


A Smoldering Storm

by Kelkat9



Series: Dark!Doctor [2]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dark Doctor (Doctor Who), F/M, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-03
Updated: 2012-10-12
Packaged: 2017-11-16 04:36:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 55,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/535572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kelkat9/pseuds/Kelkat9
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Burn With Me.  Rose is now traveling with Dark AU Ten and the Time Lords are hunting them.   The two of them are struggling to figure out how they fit together and how to overcome their own personal demons on their journey to avoid capture and maybe start a little Time Lord revolution.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

Rose sat in the med bay, bleeding and wincing every time her broken arm was moved. The Doctor violently slammed equipment down or pulled open cupboard doors only to slam them again.  He had said very little after they had arrived back in the Tardis from their “shopping“ trip.  After dematerializing them into the vortex, he had grabbed her good arm to lead her down the corridor to the med bay.  Rose knew he was angry.  His eyes were black and charged and his movements stiff and forced.  Of course, Rose was also angry.  A simple shopping trip had turned into the Oncoming Storm laying waste to an entire town.  It was all Rose could do to save the small group of people she did.

 Soon, he was manipulating her arm, aligning bones, and he didn’t seem particularly concerned with her tears or cries.  Healing broken bones, contusions and scratches was nothing to him.  He had an even more impressive med bay than Rose’s original Doctor.  Rose caught her breath for a moment.  _Her original Doctor._   So much had happened so quickly since she landed in this parallel universe.  A decision had to be made and she had made it hoping it was the right one for everyone.  The problem was…she still wasn’t sure if it was the right one for _her_.

 There were times when this Doctor was silent and moody and didn’t want any company let alone hers.  He never said anything specifically horrid to her but instead withdrew.  During these times, she often wandered through the many winding corridors of his Tardis gently trailing her fingers along the coral walls contemplating her choices.  Just when she fell into her own dark place filled with self doubt, she would feel a nudge almost like sunlight breaking through the curtains of a dark room.  His Tardis.  Rose didn’t understand it but his Tardis seemed to be connected to her.  A few gentle nudges from his glorious time ship seemed to pull her from her apprehensive thoughts, if only temporarily.

 Despite her concerns and misgivings, Rose knew that she was drawn to this Doctor who was less inclined to hide his emotions than her original Doctor.  He might withdraw at times but he had proclaimed in his own way how much he cared for her and had given her a choice.  That was the clincher for Rose.  He may not be her original Doctor but he had shown her something her Doctor never would: tangible and physical evidence of how much he cared and he had given her a choice instead of deciding for her.  She also believed he needed her and she was beginning to be believe that maybe she needed him too.  She had been through so much and seen so much during her travels through the Void.  Rose worried how the weight of her travels to parallel worlds and some of the things she had to do during her travels may have tainted her.  One of things that had convinced her to stay was that the cloned human version of herself this Doctor made would be a better Rose, less burdened by whatever had changed her into what she was now.  She wanted the best for everyone and couldn’t help but think that her family and friends were better off with her clone while this her stayed in this universe with a Doctor who accepted her for who she had become.  He wasn’t afraid of saying how much he wanted her and maybe even loved her, even as burdened and tarnished as she was.   

 They hadn’t been together long but in that time she had already summed him up.  He was far from perfect but then, so was she.  In addition to sometimes withdrawing into his own self imposed solitude, he was also dark, angry, stubborn, arrogant, judgmental and had a tendency to blow things up first and ask questions later, the innocent be damned.  That was why she was now in the med bay being tended to by an angry Time Lord.  He didn’t like it when she told him he was wrong or tried to reign in the destruction when he passed his judgment on someone, or in this case, an entire town.

 She had been injured while they were on a back of beyond planet called Trolk.  While on their shopping trip, he had found arms brokers selling weapons left over from the Time War.  Memories of how these weapons had been used washed over him and rage filled every pore of his body.  He couldn’t stand by and allow it and did what he had to put an end to the weapons and the primitive, foolish people who would risk the destruction of entire planets to satisfy their own greed.

 Finally, after he had finished treating Rose, he turned to her. “What did you think you were doing back there?” he asked in a tight, angry voice as he leaned against a table glaring at her. 

 Rose knew that look and felt her temper rise to match his.  “Me!  What were you doin!  You’re the one that went all blood, anger and revenge and blew up the town!”

 He shoved his hands in the pockets of his coat and began pacing. “They were arms brokers selling scavenged technology and weapons from the Time War!  Do you know what those weapons could do?  How many lives would be lost if I didn’t stop it?” he shouted at her, furious that she had tried to help some of the towns people escape.

 “Do you know how many people died today ‘cos you just blew them all up instead of just the ones that were wrong!” Rose shouted back.

 The Doctor whipped around and stalked over to her.  “They ran that town.  They were all involved!  It’s how they made their living, on the blood of others!” 

 Rose hopped off the exam table went toe to toe with him. “Not all of ‘em!  What ‘bout the kids and the families?  I wasn’t gonna let you storm through like an elephant in a china shop destroying everything and everyone.  It’s not right!”

 “They shouldn’t have been handling those weapons.  What kind of parents raise children around that and how will those kids turn out?  More weapons dealers that’s how!  It’s their culture, Rose.  Nothing changes unless I make it change. A few are sacrificed so many more live.  That’s the way of the universe.  Life isn’t always pretty.  You should know that just as you should know to be more careful when we’re out anywhere!  They could have killed you!” he said as he began pacing again his mind racing with thoughts of how they had attacked Rose while she was trying to help them.  Fury had consumed him that they dared try to harm her, his Rose.  When he saw her bleeding, it was like a knife thrust into one of his hearts.  He couldn’t lose her.  She had burst into his life like an exploding star reminding him of what it was to live and she was so full of life.  How could he let go of that.  The answer was he couldn’t, not ever.  She was his and no one or thing was going to take her from him.  He’d do whatever was necessary to keep her safe and with him, even if she hated him for it.

 Rose narrowed her eyes at him.  “I am always careful and I’m never gonna stand by and watch you hurt innocent people.  You’re not always right and sometimes you need someone to remind you of that.  If I have to get in a tussle with a few mercenaries to prove it then so be it!  It’s not like I haven’t had training.  I jumped across several universes more dangerous than this one without any help from you!”

 He stormed back over to her and did his best to look intimidating.  “Don’t,” he said in a quiet, dangerous voice.  “You don’t know how dangerous this universe became when you showed everyone how you could regenerate a Time Lord with nothing more than a thought.  And, as for your self defense skills…”  He leaned in until his forehead almost touched hers. “They are rubbish,” he spit out.  He straightened up.  “If you and I are going to do this,” he said and waved his arms around the Tardis.  “This traveling, then we have to have an understanding.  Rule number one…”

 “Don’t wander off,” she mumbled with attitude and crossed her arms in front of her.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and began tugging at his hair as he paced before finally facing her.  “No, somehow, I know you’ll be ignoring that one.  Rule number one,” he started again holding up his finger in front of her.   “Listen to me and that does not mean interrupt me to tell me I’m wrong.  It means listen to what I say first before you go off on some pacifist crusade,” he said and waved his hands around dramatically.  Rose rolled her eyes.

 “Rule B,” he continued, now working up a good head of steam for this particular rant and maybe even enjoying himself.  He paced a bit further.  “Not everyone wants to be saved.  You have to take care of yourself.  You are not infallible.  Just because you have an extended life and heal quickly doesn’t mean you can’t die,” he lectured with a hard look.

 Rose looked over at him and saw something behind that hard look.  He didn’t want to lose her.  She smiled slightly as she realized he may have been angry at her disagreeing with his over zealous condemnation of the arms dealers, but he was more upset that he could have lost her.  Then she remembered what he did and her smile faded.  She was not going to let him just tuck her away so he could rain hellfire and destruction across the universe, leaving a swath of chaos in his wake.

“You can’t just wrap me in cotton wool and pack me away, Doctor.  I won’t let you.  If we do this thing, us travelin, you have to let me be with you, by your side.  Sort of partners, yeah?  I promise I’ll take a bit more care, but I’ll do what I have to save you, even from yourself if I have to.”

 He stared at her in shock at first.  She was going to save him from himself?  Her, a human hybrid was going to save a millennium old Time Lord who fought in the Time War and destroyed countless worlds not to mention decimated armies of Daleks.  He couldn’t believe some tiny little human thought she could save someone like him.  Dark bitter thoughts coursed through him as memories of the Time War surfaced but they were suppressed by thoughts of her.  She was brave, valiant even and she wanted to save him.  His Rose who crossed the Void to save the multiverse and ultimately sacrificed ever seeing her family again, wanted to save a jaded, broken Time Lord from himself.  It stirred something deep inside of him.

 “So you’re going to save me from myself,” he asked dryly, hands shoved in his pockets as he stared with interest at a piece of medical equipment, avoiding looking directly at her.

 Rose sighed.  She knew this wasn’t going to be easy, the two of them figuring each other out and how to get along.  This Doctor was, in some ways, a lot like her first Doctor.  He wore his anger and bitterness like an armor about him.  The main difference was she was sure he had worn this particular armor much longer than her other Doctor had, and it would take some time to chip away at it.  She had seen glimpses of the good man he could be.  He was passionate and he cared even if he denied it.  She couldn’t be with him if she didn‘t see that inner light and goodness in him.

 “Yeah, someone has to,” she responded.

 He turned to her.  “Well then.  If you’re so convinced I need saving then you need to be better prepared.” 

 Rose arched an eyebrow at him. 

 “Training starts now,” he said harshly and grabbed her arm to drag her out of the med bay and down a corridor.

 He pulled her into a room that had a padded floor and padded walls.  The walls had racks with different weapons secured on them and there was training equipment around the room, some of which she recognized and others which she could only guess the purpose.

 She looked up at him expectantly. 

 “Right,” he exclaimed, clapped his hands together and rubbed them in anticipation. 

 Somehow Rose didn’t think this was a good thing.

 “Time for you to learn the Gallifreyan art of Dialae,” he announced and tossed his black coat to the side.

 “Okay,” she said, nodding her head.  “Ya know, my other Doctor already taught me Venusian Aikido.”

 He haughtily sniffed.  “Venusian Aikido is rubbish compared to Gallifreyan Dialae.  We’re superior and you need to learn how to defend yourself. I’m not spending the rest of my regenerations fixing you up because you relied on antiquated and primitive hand to hand combat techniques.”

 “Fine,” Rose said in her _‘I am not amused’_ voice. “What do I do?”

 He smirked and straightened his dark gray swirly tie.  “First, it’s all about balance.  You’d be surprised at how easy it is to overcome an adversary if you can shift their balance.”  He led her over to a blue mat and positioned her in front of him.

 “Shouldn’t I take off my jacket or something?” she asked as he smiled cockily at her.

 “Well, do you think your opponent’s gonna stand there and wait for you to tidy up?” he asked in a voice laced with sarcasm.

 “Fine,” Rose replied as she stood before him dressed in her boots, jeans, tight blue lace top and black leather jacket.  “Go on then, show me this Dally thing.”

 “Dialae,” he corrected.  “Center yourself and stand as balanced as you can and hold your arms out, palms open and facing me.”  She did as he asked and he stood before her placing his palms against hers.  He stared into her eyes and applied pressure to her hands.  Rose felt a heat spark deep within her as he gazed into her eyes and flushed from the thought of the last time he had looked at her like this; he had pinned her naked to the bed as he taught her how telepathic foreplay was even better than touch.  Needless to say, she lost her concentration and took a step back.  He grinned in triumph.

 “See, you’re not balanced,” he announced, looking smug.

 “Wait a minute! That wasn’t fair!  You were puttin’ the Time Lord shaggin’ whammy on me!” Rose complained.

 “The what?” he laughed. 

 “You know what you was doin’,” she retorted as she pushed at his chest so he was back in the same spot.  She stood before him ready to try again.

 He placed his hands against hers.  “It’s not my fault you find me irresistible,” he said with a sexy growl.  “Besides, nothing should distract you from this.  It’s not like someone trying to kill you is going to wait for you to be ready to defend yourself.” He then moved against her not letting her settle herself in but this time Rose was ready and didn’t budge. She pushed back against him.  He didn’t even flinch.  “Balance,” he said conversationally but with an amused look on his face as she struggled.  “Focus on your balance.”

 He shifted slightly and knocked her back.  He seemed to be enjoying this little display of superiority and that’s when Rose became even more determined to wipe that cocky grin off his face.  She came back at him.  He chuckled and placed his palms against hers.  “You know, I don’t think I ever realized how arousing this could be,” he said, a naughty glint in his eyes as he tried to manipulate her.

 Rose smiled.  Two could play this game.  “Ya know, you may be right.  Here we are, palm to palm just standing inches apart, trying to dominate each other.  It’s not like we can’t feel that electric charge, smell desire in the air and then there’s that…” she paused and smiled that flirtatious smile and her tongue peeked out at him.  She made sure she thought some gloriously filthy thoughts about what she’d like to do to him.  Some may have involved letting him tying her up to a strut in the console room.  “…physical attraction and wantin’ to shove you down on the ground and just have my wicked way with you,” she finished.

 His eyes darkened and he swallowed hard. “How wicked?” he asked, staring at her as she licked her lips.  Suddenly, Rose shoved hard and he lost his balance just enough to shift a bit.  He looked at her in surprise as she smiled broadly.

 “Right, I think I got the balance thing.  Anything else?” she asked confidently and with a teasing look in her eyes.

 “You…you played me,” he said a little offended and then smiled sexily back at her.  “All right my uncommon Rose, you think you’re so clever…let’s see, shall we?”  He stretched and bounced up and down a couple of times.  “We’ll see who’s better at sparring then.”

 Rose cocked an eyebrow at him. “What sort of sparring?”

 He grinned, circling her in a predatory manner.  “Dialae,” he said, his eyes never leaving her and almost lazily examining her from head to toe. 

 Rose turned with him, tensing for whatever he had in mind.  “Right,” she said with a little less confidence.  After a while she decided there was no way she was waiting on him to attack. She relaxed her shoulders thinking that would fool him right before she executed a perfect Venusian aikido kick.  The next thing she knew she was on the floor and he was standing over her with his trainer clad foot planted on her chest.

 “That was too easy!” he said grinning.

 She tried to get up but he held her down.  “Do you know how slow you were?  And you had it written all over your face.”

 Rose looked at his foot and then back up to him and smiled, planning her next move.  “All right, maybe you have some super Time Lord sense that lets you know that but I don’t.”

 He scoffed. “Doesn’t take a Time Lord to see that!  You just have to pay attention and besides, you have senses you haven’t even tapped into yet,” he lectured before turning serious.  “You could be so much more but you have to accept who you are.”

 “I know who I am,” she announced, hating that he was lecturing her this way. She twisted and grabbed his leg and pulled to knock him down.  He caught himself easily and was on her as she stood up. Rose was frustrated at how easily he seemed to block every move she made against him.  After the third time he knocked her down, it hit her.  He was watching her eyes and how she flexed her muscles and perhaps even reading her timeline a bit.  Tricky bastard.

She took a few steps back breathing hard to try and get a read on him.  He just grinned and didn’t seem the slightest bit winded or even tense.  He wasn’t even concerned.  “You think you’re so clever don’t you?” she finally said with annoyance.

 “Well I am me after all,” he responded with a self satisfied smirk.

 That did it.  No matter what, she was knocking him on his arse.  “Oh yeah, so if you’re so good and tryin’ to teach me something then teach.  Go on, show me your moves.”

 “So you want to see my moves do you?” he answered and his eyes metamorphosed from a sparkling amusement to something else.  “I could show you some moves,” he suggested with a slight innuendo in his tone.

 “Isn’t that the whole purpose of all of this?” Rose asked and waved her arms around.  “Ya know, so I stop getting hurt ‘cos you think I can’t defend myself.  So, show me this Time Lord Dialae thing.  Unless…you’re afraid of me bein’ able to take you?”

 The look on his face made her shiver with desire.  “Oh I’d like to see you take me, my Rose,” he said and began sidling up to her.  Rose felt flushed as he moved toward her.  He was so dangerously elegant.  She unconsciously licked her lips as she thought of other ways he had moved with her and against her, his muscles flexing and contracting, whispering sexy words in mind.  This became less about self defense and more of a far more intimate battle.

 “Stop using just your eyes.  Sense, me Rose.  There’s more to life than sight, scent, touch and sound.”  He continued to move toward and around her.  He made no sound as he approached.  Rose tore her gaze from his eyes and focused on him, all of him.  She watched the way his trousers moved and the obvious sign of his arousal, how his gray pinstripe jacket shifted slightly indicating subtle movements.  The way his long fingers flexed. 

 “Let go,” he said softly.

 Before she could blink he was on her and it was all she could do not fall to the ground.  He was fast, lighting fast.  Everywhere she turned he was there and she barely scrambled away from him on the floor.  When she looked up he was staring at her darkly. “Get up,” he ordered.

 She stood and let out the breath she had been holding.  “Now let go,” he ordered in a strong commanding voice.  Rose stared into his eyes almost falling into the darkness within and something shifted.  It was like he showed her something without saying anything.  She blinked and shook herself out of it but the next time he came at her she could anticipate his movements better.  They sparred and she blocked his movements more easily.  This time, he didn’t knock her down.  She realized he was faster and that the only way she would win this would be to outsmart him.

 She smirked at the thought of outsmarting the egotistical Time Lord.  He responded with a subtle overconfident smile. “Ready to yield?” he asked.

 Rose smiled back at him and shook her head. “Never.”  She then concentrated and feigned movement to the left and when he went for her, twisted and threw him to the floor straddling him and holding him down, her face millimeters from his.  “So much for your moves,” she said grinning and grinding into him.

 He stared at her for a moment almost like he relished her small victory and then fast enough to knock the breath out of her rolled over so he was on top laying intimately on top of her holding her arms down and leaned down close to her ear.  “Don’t get cocky.  You still have a lot to learn,” he whispered into her ear, his breath tickling her and making her shiver.

 “Yeah?  And you…you wanna teach me?” she asked breathlessly.

 “Mmmm,” he hummed as he began nibbling along her neck.

 “Funny way of training, Time Lords have,” she said arching into him with her eyes closed in enjoyment.  “Thought you was gonna teach me how to protect myself, balance and…oh…you know stuff,” she gasped as he began to subtlety move his body against hers.

 He nuzzled his way around and gently nipped at her. “Just making sure your training is complete.  Muscle tone is important,” he murmured as he pressed his lips against hers as she felt his hands under her blouse and skimming across her abdomen and beneath her jeans.  He paused to let her breath. “Yes, we need a little muscle toning exercise,” he said as he continued to plunder her mouth, sucking and nipping and tasting her.

 She moaned and arched into him as she felt his clever fingers work their way under her knickers and dip into a moist wet heat that was all for him.  Just as the zipper on her jeans was yanked down, an echoing sound reverberated through the room.  The Doctor sat up suddenly.  “The cloister bell,” he said with concern.

 “What?  What is it?” Rose asked.

 “Nothing good,” he answered and hopped up pulling her with him.  Rose sighed as they ran out of the room.  So much for training and just when they were getting to the best parts.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Master makes an appearance! Much hotness toward the end of this chapter. Some of the dialog is taken from The Sound of Drums as I just love it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to who_in_whoville, timelord1 and onabearskinrug for beta duties! Also, thank you to 10docandr who helped me with the title.

The Doctor ran around the console slamming switches, cursing and skidding to a stop in front of a monitor.

“Doctor, what is it?” Rose asked, hovering beside him nervously.

“No, it can’t be!” he exclaimed and typed out something on a key board as the time rotor pumped up and down several time. Suddenly, the Tardis shifted to one side. Rose grabbed onto the console for dear life as the Doctor frantically tried to navigate. They landed with a screeching sound amidst the cloister bells. Rose was on the ground next to the console and sat up noticing the normal orange glow of the Tardis seemed tinged with red.

The Doctor raced over and pulled her up and over next to him, pulling out his glasses to examine data scrolling across the monitor. Rose couldn’t read Gallifreyan but did notice some patterns in what was floating across the screen. “Doctor, something about that looks familiar,” she said worriedly.

He turned to her. “What do you mean? How are you reading this?” he demanded.

“I’m not reading’ it!” Rose snapped. “I can just see a pattern in the symbols is all. So, what’s it mean. Where are we?”

He stared at her for a long time and Rose began to fidget. He muttered in Gallifreyan, pulling at his hair and Rose again asked, “Doctor, where are we?”

He sighed and violently hit a switch. “We’re on Arcadia or what’s left of it. No one should be here,” he said darkly, his body tense as he glared at the Tardis doors.

Rose watched him. Any previous playfulness they’d been enjoying during their “sparring” match was gone. In its place was a copy of the Doctor she’d first met on Earth. His eyes were a fathomless pit of darkness and he practically radiated tension and a leashed violence. She knew she had to do something to break him out of this or something bad would happen.

“What’s out there?” she asked and stood next to him, looking from him to the doors.

He turned to her and Rose could see and feel the alieness of him. It was in his eyes and the aura around him. Her skin prickled and she wanted to take a step back away from him. It was like he emitted something that sent out a warning to any creature near him, “Run fast and hard. The predator is near.”

Despite the internal warning inside of her, she stepped forward and put her hand on his arm. “Doctor,” she said in a soft voice and shook him out of whatever had taken hold of him.

“This is no accident,” he finally said in a clipped voice. “There’s another Time Lord out there.” He pulled away and walked toward the door and paused. “Stay in the Tardis.”

Rose immediately felt her hackles rise. “I thought we agreed you couldn’t just tuck me away, that we’re a team now,” she said, her own inner wolf snarling at being treated this way.

“No,” he said with a hard look. “Not this time. This is Time Lord business and I’m not exposing you to this particular Time Lord.”

Rose almost stomped forward. “Tough, I’m comin’ with you. I’m not gonna just sit here while you get into a tussle with some nutter Time Lord who thinks it’d be fun to cobble together a bunch of time rifts into some sort or time weapon!”

“How did you know what he was up to? I didn’t tell you about the rifts.” he asked, now looking at her with speculation.

Rose was a little stunned at herself. How had she known? She looked back at him. “It must have come from you. Maybe I’m just better at reading your thoughts than you think. Now, enough with the pushy overprotective Time Lord attitude. Let’s get out there and get this over. I’m hungry and you owe me dinner,” she said with more bravado than she felt at the moment. He was right, she shouldn’t have been able just to read his thoughts. He had telepathic barriers in place so that she only saw what he wanted her to see. She felt the Tardis hum to her in the background and had a sneaky suspicion part of this was her doing.

He sighed and looked upward internally cursing her increasing ability to pick up on stray thoughts and feelings from him. He looked back down at her determined face and fought the smile that tried to emerge at her stubborn determination to stand by him. “Fine. Just stay next to me and don’t provoke him and I mean that,” he ordered and grabbed her hand.

They walked out into a landscape that made Rose catch her breath. Describing the planet as rugged would have been an understatement. It looked like something out of a nightmare. It was like the planet had cracked and the very ground itself was at war with the atmosphere. Black and gray jagged spikes of rock jutted upward into a midnight sky with only the glow of an enormous moon lighting the planet. Some of the rock had melted into shiny jagged shards of glass. Even the ground was like walking on broken glass as they crunched and climbed their way up and around the rocky spires and outcroppings. A chill settled over her and she was glad for her leather coat which she zipped up.

Eventually, the Doctor stopped atop a rough black rock and looked out across the dead landscape. Rose climbed up beside him, looking at the arrogant Time Lord who stood tall and proud like some conquering king surveying his domain, his dark gray coat billowing all around him in the breeze. She then turned to look at what he was staring at and saw a man dressed all in black, his short blond hair shining in the moonlight and a twisted smile on his face. He hopped down off a rocky outcropping, skidding across the deadly landscape as if it was nothing and made his way toward them.

“Let’s go,” the Doctor said with little emotion. Rose reached for his hand but he was already making his way down the slope toward the blonde Time Lord. Rose did not climb down as gracefully and actually slid down most of the way on her bum the sharp rocks slicing through her clothing, cutting her knees, hands and arms. She skidded to a stop at the Doctor’s feet. He reached down without looking at her and yanked her up. Together, they walked to meet the other Time Lord who stood in the dark ominous landscape staring at them with a smirk on his face, his cold blue eyes made Rose shiver. She instinctually didn’t like him.

When they came to a stop the two men just stared at one another. It looked like some Time Lord stand off to Rose who couldn’t help but think about blokes being blokes no matter the species. Yet, there was also the possibility this was some time of Time Lord telepathy thing. Either option did not comfort Rose.

“Master,” the Doctor said with little inflection in his voice

“Oh, I love it when you say my name,” the Master almost purred back to him.

“Well you chose it, a psychiatrist’s field day if you ask me,” the Doctor retorted dryly.

“And you chose Doctor, the man who makes people better. How sanctimonious is that!” Then the Master turned his attention to Rose. “And what have we here? Is this the new pet causing all the fuss in the Panopticon?”

Rose immediately stood up taller and narrowed her eyes at him thinking all manner of insults, most of which ended in ‘wanker.’

The Doctor seemed to pick up on her thoughts and had to fight off a grin. “Poking around at rifts and almost causing a temporal implosion is a funny way of ringing me up for a date. Shouldn’t you be in… I don’t know, prison?” the Doctor asked, trying to divert the Master’s attention away from Rose.

The Master turned back to the Doctor. “As if they could ever build a prison to hold me! You know what’s happening back home. What are you doing about it?” he demanded.

The Doctor’s stance relaxed slightly. “Me, do? Why should I do anything? Besides, I’m on the run if you haven’t heard. There’s probably at least a hand full of CIA agents out looking for me. Not that they’ll find me mind you. They’re incredibly unimaginative and I’m…well brilliant.”

Rose rolled her eyes at this. She couldn’t believe she was stuck on some hellacious planet with two cocky and conceited Time Lords trying to outdo one another.

“No, you’re just going to run away with your pretty little homicidal temporal vixen here. You’re pathetic! You know that the two of us together could blaze through the council and with blondie here, we could change everything, set Gallifrey afire with a new glorious destiny. You’ve seen it! I know you have! You know the others would fall into line behind us,” the Master lectured seductively as if the cadence of his voice alone would persuade the Doctor to see things his way.

The Doctor stared at the Master who he saw as lost in his own delirium of conquest. They had been friends once long ago. The Master had chosen a path of madness filled with domination, lust for power and little regard for any life, Gallifreyan or otherwise. He was brilliant and charismatic. They had been inseparable at the academy and stood out with a handful of others who showed a creativity and brilliance outside the norm for most Time Lords and Ladies. Of course, this also made them social outcasts as well. The Master took this all in stride. He descended from one of the high old families and just sniffed and looked down at most everyone. The Doctor never quite understood what the Master saw in him. Perhaps, deep down, he recognized a fellow rebel for that’s what they both ended up doing, rebelling against society each in their own way.

“Master,” the Doctor groaned shaking his head. “I have no interest in waging war against my own people. I’ve had enough of killing and destruction.”

“Really?” the Master said “And yet you travel with her,” he said, looking at Rose with intensity and desire. “She regenerated Time Lords with a glance. Look at her. She’s quite a tasty morsel of barely leashed violence; and a powerful tool to be wielded against uncompromising Time Lords.”

“Oi! I’m nobody’s weapon,” Rose shouted, her temper getting the better of her. She bristled at how this Time Lord was talking about her and how he treated the Doctor.

“We’re done here,” the Doctor stated coldly. “Go try and sell your plan for blood and domination elsewhere.”

The Master laughed. “Oh, you can run now but you can’t run forever! After I’m through gutting the council, I’ll be claiming your precious little wolf. That’s what she is after all. A wolf in a pretty blonde package. And when she’s mine…”

“I’ll never be yours!” Rose spit out, something golden sparkling in her eyes which made the Master pause.

“Look at you,” the Master said in a soft voice filled with lust and obsession. “No wonder he clings to you. Oh, but you are a delicious little knot of time. So much power… wasted. The things you and I could do…”

Rose gripped the Doctor’s hand tighter. “I don’t bloody think so! Homicidal nutters aren’t really my type!”

The Master laughed again. “Really? And yet you’re with him. I hear he was quite good at death and destruction during the war.”

“Stop it!” Rose warned as she felt the Doctor stiffen beside her. She stared at the Master with a look that sparkled with power and intensity.

“You are a fiery one,” he continued to goad. “I’ll bet he’s enjoying that, binding you up and to him. He always did like a little leather and bondage.”

“Enough!” the Doctor shouted. He stalked over to the Master and stared him in the eyes. “Rose is mine!” he enunciated.

“But for how long?” the Master retorted. He looked over a Rose and smiled evilly. “She already tossed aside one parallel version of you and quite easily too. What’s to stop her from walking out on you? Look at her. Think about how easily she left a comfy little human existence without a backward glance.” He turned back to the Doctor. “Leaving you is nothing for a cold hearted little killer like her.”

“No!” Rose shouted out as the Master’s words sank into that area of self doubt deep inside of her. He knew just what insecurities to pick at and despite knowing he was just trying to get to her, she was helpless to stop the turmoil inside of her worrying about the choices she had made of late.

The Doctor knew the Master was manipulating them. Rose was still dealing with the repercussions of leaving all of her family and friends behind. The Doctor felt so drawn to her and she had made such an impact in his life in such a short amount of time that he didn’t’ want to lose her, especially not to her own self doubt. The thought that she could be taken or leave him triggered a primitive and almost violent response in him. The Oncoming Storm consumed him and he exuded a dark power that would intimidate lesser species. The Master just smirked, enjoying the fact he had angered the Doctor.

“Don’t think you can take what’s mine. You want to go on a foolish murderous rampage, go on. But leave us out of it,” the Doctor spit out.

“Oh, but you’re already in the thick of it and when I’m in control…” the Master said softly. “I’ll break you and take blondie as my new pet as a symbol of Gallifrey’s supremacy.”

“I don’t think so. You think you can wage war against Gallifrey and cross me? You who ran from the battle at the Gates of Elysium while the rest of us stayed the line. Maybe you should think about that. You ran and I stayed and killed them all, every last Dalek that was there,” The Doctor said with an insidious satisfaction in his voice as he watched the Master flinch.

He turned decisively, his coat billowing out and grabbed Rose’s hand and marched away with her.

“It won’t work, Doctor!” the Master shouted. “There’s no avoiding this! You’re going to have to pick a side!” The Master pulled out his laser screwdriver but before he could fire it, it flew from his grasp. The last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was the Doctor and Rose standing together looking down at him and the Doctor’s sonic glowing blue against the harsh landscape.

The trip back the Tardis was made in silence. Rose fell several times only to be hoisted up and dragged along. Once in the Tardis, he let her go and focused on the console. He never spoke a word. Rose sat back on the jump seat cradling her cut hands and feeling every shard of rock that had embedded itself in her knees when she fell. She knew she should go to med bay and treat her wounds but she couldn’t leave him. Too much had been said on that planet. The Master’s words had stung both of them.

Finally, Rose could bear the silence no more. “Doctor, about what he said,” she said softly.

He stiffened and stopped what he was doing. “Don’t,” he responded in an emotional voice. “You don’t know him like I do. Everything he does or says is meant to hurt and manipulate those around him. It’s who he is now. Forget what he said.”

Rose stared at him wondering what he meant by “now.” From the conversation she‘d heard, it was obvious they both fought in the Time War. She knew how devastated the Doctor was and wondered if the Master had been driven insane by the horror and devastation of the war.

“No,” the Doctor said softly, having read her thoughts. “He was like this before the war.” He turned around and faced her. “I’ve repaired the damage from his manipulation of the rifts and made sure he won’t be able to cause further damage to that world. Arcadia has endured enough I think.”

Rose nodded her head, worried by the pain on his face and knowing he was remembering whatever battle had occurred there. “What’ll happen when the Master wakes up?”

The Doctor snorted. “He’ll escape to cause havoc somewhere else. It’s what he does.”

“Aren’t you worried ‘bout what he could do? I mean, I know your people are a bit arrogant and control freaks, but it would be worse with him in charge.”

“That’s none of your concern. Now come on, back to the med bay. You’re bleeding all over my Tardis,” he said gruffly and walked over to lead her back to the infirmary. Rose walked down the corridor with him, worried and annoyed at his abrupt dismissal of her questions. The Master’s accusations of her choices and leaving everyone she loved behind was still niggling at the back of her mind.

She hopped up on an exam table her legs dangling over the side and watched him throw his coat over chair and once again slam things around. Rose sighed as she thought about how this is how their day had started. Before she could contemplate further she heard him bark out “Strip!”

“Scuse me,” she asked, arms crossed and in no mood to put up with his moodiness.

“You’ve got shards of rock embedded in you from fumbling around on a dead planet. There could be any number of pathogens infecting the wounds and just waiting to settle in and feast on your cellular structures. I can’t exactly clean and treat all your wounds through what you’re wearing,” he said, looking at her expectantly.

Rose was perturbed at his attitude. “It’s not my fault if I slipped trying to keep up with you,” she said defensively, wincing as she moved her wounded knees.

He stood there glaring at her. “Take your clothes off,” he ordered.

Rose sighed as she took off her leather jacket which some of the sharp rocks had gashed through and moved on to unlacing her boots. Impatient at her tentative movements due to her injuries, the Doctor walked over to help her, dropping her boots with a thunk when he pulled them off. She hopped off the table and shimmied out of her jeans which were sticking to her knees where she was bleeding. The Doctor grabbed her by the waist, lifted her back up on the table and peeled her jeans the rest of the way off as she pulled her blue lace top off. He pulled out his glasses and a scanner and went to work on her hands and arms first. She winced as he used a tool that extracted the debris from her wounds and then sprayed them with something that stung, causing her to curse enough to raise his eyebrows.

She mumbled sorry and sniffed as tears leaked down her face. A few waves of his sonic had her hands and arms healed. The Doctor remained silent during this procedure which she knew was a bad sign. Whenever he was this quiet, it was due to him fuming internally over anything from her injuries to the Time War to some broken Tardis part. There was only one way to deal with him when he was like this even if it galled her to do it.

“Doctor, I’m sorry. I know you don’t like havin’ to constantly fix me up,” she apologized and bit her tongue from saying she thought he was being unreasonable and overly dramatic.

He looked at her sitting on the exam table in her lacy blue bra and knickers, her hair falling out of the braids she was wearing. It was obvious she did not want to apologize but she was doing it for him. Despite being angry that she was once again injured, just knowing that she was willing to apologize to make things right with him, eased his anger and frustration over her injuries. She was doing this for him because she cared. He couldn’t remember the last time someone cared so much about his feelings.

The Master had threatened to take her today and his taunts had struck a chord in the Doctor unleashing a possessive streak he tried to control. If the Master wanted to find something to make him angry, he succeeded and was lucky that Rose was there to stop the Doctor from doing something rash with the Master. The Doctor wanted Rose to be his like he had never wanted anything. This desire went well beyond a passing fancy. There was something about her that filled him with light and made him shiver in ecstasy. It went against every bit of Time Lord training ingrained in him which made it just that much more delicious. No, he would never allow the Master anywhere near her.

As much as he fought to contain his possessiveness, he couldn’t help but wonder if such feelings weren’t a result of something else. He wanted her but he also wanted her to want him just as much. It was important that she choose him. Something as simple as her apologizing to him like she just had was a sign of her regard for him. He knew how much she respected the parallel version of him and how devoted she was to that Doctor. He wanted that…love. It was a shock to him when he identified the emotion. He wanted her to love him as much as he…. He could barely admit it to himself. He, a Time Lord, had fallen in love with this uncommon Rose.

He reached this epiphany as he reached for her injured knees. He placed his palms on her thighs and gently pulled them apart.

Rose also was contemplating what had happened that day. He could be such a git at times and yet other times, he was so much like the Time Lord she had left behind. Although she accepted this new life with this new Doctor, a part of her still wondered about the choices she had made. Every day, the memories of her prior life seemed to fade into the background as the here and now became her primary focus. There was an underlying guilt at allowing that to happen. She couldn’t deny how quickly her feelings for him had grown and deepened. She watched as emotions warred within him just as they were within her.

Just as she was wondering if she should say something more to him, she felt his emotions shift. It was a tangible sensation almost like the room had tilted. She gasped at the intensity of his feelings. His touch which had been clinical if not slightly harsh before, now became gentle and caressing as he slid his hands down her thighs and under her knees, his fingers trailing over her skin in an almost erotic manner. She shivered involuntarily as he examined the damage to her knees. He removed any shards from her wounds, being far gentler this time. She closed her eyes as she felt him draw his finger tips down her calves and up around to her knees when he had completed his task. When she opened her eyes, he was gazing hotly at her through his glasses, his hands still gripping her around the freshly healed skin of her knees with his thumbs drawing circles against her tender flesh.

Her breath caught as she stared into his molten brown eyes that reflected so much emotion. Oh, but he know how to light a fire within her with just a look. Any worries or anxious feelings were quickly shoved aside. He moved in between her legs as his hands slid upward onto her thighs gently squeezing and caressing until his fingers skimmed along the edge of her knickers.

“Rose,” he groaned.

“Doctor,” she whispered back, her hands unbuttoning his dress shirt, wrapping around him and pulling him closer to her. That was all the invitation he needed. It didn’t matter that they were in the infirmary or that she had newly healed injuries. He slid her to the edge of the table and thrust his pelvis against her as his mouth plundered hers, nipping and sucking at her begging entrance. His hands tugged at her knickers until they ripped and were tossed casually aside.

Rose soon had his jacket off followed by his shirt until he was bare chested with only his tie hanging loosely around his neck. She ground up against him and nipped at his lower lip teasingly. They pulled apart long enough for him to remove her brassier and her to make short work of his dress slacks whilst he simultaneously toed off his trainers.

They paused and gazed at each other. Rose was getting a glimmer of his thoughts about all the things he wanted to do to her and learned about secret rooms he had in the Tardis that were something out of a dark fantasy. Rose giggled at him and he smirked. “Like that do you? Just wait.” He shifted and leaned over the edge of the table shoving her backwards and the hard evidence of his desire throbbing and nudging apart her folds rubbing against that sweet nub, sliding against and teasing her.

She arched up into him, rubbing herself against him harder gasping for him to be inside of her. Her nails dug into his shoulder as she tightened her legs about him. She gripped his tie and tugged. “You in me now!” she ordered.

“Impatient,” he responded, chuckling darkly at her and focused on laving and nibbling at her breasts, brushing his mind against her in a new kind of foreplay. Rose writhed as he opened his time to hers and felt their time lines twine around each other causing both of them to shiver as their temporal senses vibrated with the resonance of it.

The Doctor growled “yes” and roughly gripped her as he aligned himself and thrust into her warm moist heat. “The Doctor is in,” he said in a sexy whisper as his loose tie tickled her breasts while he moved with her. Rose was out of her mind feeling him both inside of her and caressing her mind. She could feel his desire surrounding her in a way no human could ever experience it. He wanted her in so many ways that were both dark, erotic and a little overwhelming. It shocked her how she responded to this. This was more than just physical now. A part of her was burrowing its way into his mind as much as he was settling in hers and it was glorious.

She encouraged him on, clawing at him begging him for more. He grunted as he felt the table shake with each slap of him against her. “Promise me,” he demanded. “Promise you’ll never leave me!”

“No, never gonna leave you. Want you forever!” she screamed as she met each of his thrusts, her sweat slick skin sliding across his. He growled in response as he felt the time lines shift. All the offshoots and diversions of their time lines clarified for him in one shining moment just as she clenched around him, filling him with her mind and emotions. He screamed her name and collapsed. For a short while, the two of them found peace between them. Unfortunately for them, it would be short lived.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No smutz this chapt but there are Time Lords! What happens at the end of this chapter, will cause Dark Ten to become particularly enraged. Also, there is a small homage to Star Trek in here.

The great cavernous gathering hall of the Time Lords reverberated with the worried voices of hundreds of Time Lords. One voice rang out to silence the assembled Time Lords. Lord Omicrex, dressed in his blue robe, stepped up to a podium. He looked out over the gathering of Time Lords with a calculating look in his ancient eyes.

“My Lords and Ladies, a time of great tribulation is upon us. We have all endured the horrors of war and seen how the careless actions of the lesser races can effect all of time and space. Even with our diligence to remain only as observers and adhering to a policy of noninterference, we find ourselves repeatedly thrust into the heart of universal calamities which would otherwise destroy all life. For millennia we have vowed to uphold a policy of noninterference and only take actions necessary to preserve the web of time. That policy has failed. No longer can we remain the passive observers. Our very existence, our heritage and all that we are or could be now lies in peril if we do not take action. We must become more active stewards of time and the universe.”

This controversial statement was met with concerned murmurings of the Time Lords present. It was not the first time a Time Lord had advocated change or proposed that Gallifrey take a more active role in the guidance and protection of the universe. All previous proposed changes to Gallifrey’s non-interference policy had been quickly shot down. That was before the Time War with the Daleks.

Lord Omicrex raised his hands. “Yes, I know this may appear to be rash and against Lord Rassilon’s principle of non-intervention, but the truth of the matter is we cannot be drawn into another war. The war with the Daleks showed us that we cannot stand by and passively watch other species develop into universal threats. Now is the time to take action and spread our benevolence across the stars. My Lords and Ladies, some of us feel that with the vast repository of wisdom contained in these hallowed halls and all that is bequeathed to us from the generations before us, we can apply a few simple measures to prevent universal catastrophe and assure the continued security of time as well as the continuation of our own species.

“Some of our most esteemed scientists have begun a few….limited experiments to test theories on preventing the primitive species from evolving certain dispositions toward aggressive imperialism of the universe. The results of these experiments are most promising. With our guidance and discrete intervention, we believe it is in the best interest of the universe and time itself that we take certain actions. It is up to the Time Lords, as one of the oldest and most respected races, to guide the development of the younger species to a…less aggressive and enlightened existence thus assuring a stable and harmonious universe. Myself and the high council have discussed this at great length and find this new policy necessary and in the best interest of all species. President Romana has deemed this a matter of great importance and authorized this gathering so that all may participate in the sanctioning of this new era. I ask you all now to join me in supporting Gallifrey to take it‘s place as the guardian of the universe and shepherd of the sentient species that reside within it!” He shouted.

Several Time Lords stood up and shouted their agreement while others were not so supportive. Soon the most vehement supporters were pushing others to agree and there was much shouting around the hall. It was clear that not all Time Lords and Ladies agreed with this controversial proposal and in fact were set against it. A hooded figure who had been hovering around the outskirts of the hall ducked out, quickly scurrying down a secret corridor and slipping into a dark room.

Another hooded figure stepped forward from a shadowed alcove. “He has placed his people at several key governmental positions including the Celestial Intervention Agency. This puts us at a distinct disadvantage,” the male hooded figure stated.

The figure who had just entered the room pulled out a thin, silver cylinder with an amber colored light shinning from the tip and waved it before her. Soon, the hood was shoved aside to reveal a tall aristocratic blonde Time Lady dressed in fine robes denoting her presidential status. “I am aware of Lord Omicrex’ political manipulations, Castellan. There’s nothing I can do. If I make a move, he and his supporters will have me removed opening the door for him to ascend to the presidency. If that happens….well, we cannot allow it,” President Romana said, pacing back and forth her robes rustling against the polished floor in the darkened sitting room. She paused, looking out the window over the shining city beneath her.

“And what do you propose to do, Lady President. We cannot stand by idle. He has already begun implementing his plan to alter the timelines of several races and interfered with several fixed points. You know what it takes for us to manipulate the time lines and prevent a catastrophe from such alterations,” Castellan Andred lectured, walking up closer to the President. “My spies indicate Lord Omicrex and his power hungry accomplices have developed some device that they say can negate the effect of altering a fixed point,” Castellan Andred continued, looking worried but still alert for any spies who may be lurking nearby. He knew that the President had secured the room from listening devices, but their enemies were clever.

Romana turned to him abruptly. “That is not possible,” she said vehemently and shook her head. She paced a few steps and grimaced as she knew Andred was right. Only Omicrex would try and go so far. “Oh, that pompous old fool! His arrogance will destroy us all,” she said, clenching her hands. “If that is the case, then we can’t wait any longer. We have to make contact with him and he is not going to like it.”

“Are you sure he’ll help us. He’s never been reliable in the past and after the war….” Andred said, looking unhappy.

Romana turned to him. “I trust him, Castellan. He has only ever done what he thought best for Gallifrey and never allowed politics to interfere with what must be done.”

“And what of the girl he has with him. You’ve heard of what she’s capable of. There are those that feel she is a threat to us all.”

Romana smiled at Andred. “She’s with him and I know he would not travel with a killer.”

Andred laughed. “He traveled with Leela.”

Romana arched a brow over an amused blue eye. “Andred, your wife may be many things, but she is not a killer unless forced to do so. A warrior yes, but a blood thirsty killer..no. I don’t believe this girl is either. We need him, both of them. There are those who wish to lay blame on him for following orders and doing what had to be done in the war but there are also those who trust him with their very lives. I am one of the latter. Now then, I have to get back before I’m missed. Send the message Andred. Gallifrey is sick. It needs a Doctor.” President Romana swept out of the room back toward the Presidential office. Castellan Andred was one of the few people she trusted and if anyone could discretely contact the Doctor, it was him. Of course, what the Doctor did after that was anyone’s guess. She just hoped that whatever actions he took, they involved saving Gallifrey.

**************

 

After encountering the Master, the Doctor took Rose on a whirlwind tour of time and space. He seemed determined to impress and amaze her as well as keep her too busy to dwell on recent events. This was a life to which Rose was accustomed and she embraced it. However, there was something worrying her. Rose couldn’t quite put her finger on it but, it was like something was always just a bit off wherever they were. At first, she chalked it up to being in a parallel universe. Any time she asked the Doctor about it, he changed the subject and took her to some new amazing sights like the floating mountains of Baldoon, the violet ice flows of Ichitelya or surfing the cosmic winds across the Antares Maelstrom.

Needless to say, they still had issues between them and all was not perfect. There were the inevitable stops at various markets for parts and supplies which always led to some sort of trouble. Luckily, Rose had been able prevent him from destroying any more towns although she did help him blow up a munitions factory at Villengard and helped plant the illustrious banana grove another Doctor had once bragged about. Still, she could see the Doctor walking a fine line of fighting against some inner darkness. He never talked to her about what haunted him but she started to get clues here and there.

One such clue emerged in the form of night terrors. Time Lords didn’t require as much sleep as humans did but, every once and while he would doze off next to her, usually after a passionate interlude. He would scream out in various languages and thrash violently in bed. When Rose tried to help him, he pushed her away and coldly told her he needed to work on the Tardis, effectively dismissing what had happened. It was times like these that Rose worried the most. This was classic Doctor behavior to her. As she watched him walk away after one such episode, she couldn’t help and think how much like the other Doctor he was. It wasn’t until much later that she learned that stray thought had hit him like a knife to the hearts. He hated being compared to the other Doctor.

Rose’s own feelings were still mixed. Each day she spent with him, she gained confidence in her choice to stay. She had no doubt of his passion for her. He seemed almost frantic to mark her physically and the telepathic aspect of their relationship left Rose with a buzzing warm feeling. She shivered at the thought of how he wrapped his mind and time around hers. She would never tire of that.

Of course, even after all the running, seeing magnificent sights and the titillating shagging, Rose knew it was important that they find something more between them. All too often , they had tremendous rows. Many times, these arguments were about choices he made on whether or not to help someone when something appeared wrong with the flow of time, or when he wanted to blow something up due to some perceived transgression from the Time War.

Sometimes, it was about some reference she made to her past travels with her other Doctor. He never wanted her to talk about the past and especially not about her other Doctor. He wanted to live in the present, the here and now. Considering he was a Time Lord, this was ironic to Rose and the one demand she couldn’t comply with. Her past was the reason she was here now. It weighed on her and she couldn’t let it go.

It all came to a head on the planet Regalos. The Doctor seemed disturbed when they arrived and became even more agitated as they walked around one of the towns.

“Doctor, what’s wrong?” Rose asked, her hand firmly clasped with his as they walked through the primitive village made of hand hewn stone buildings and cobblestone streets.

“Nothing’s wrong,” he answered abruptly and silently watched the indigenous people who looked humanoid to Rose except for their bright blue skin decorated with black tattoos.

“Well somethin’s wrong or you wouldn’t be standin’ here starin’ at the people as if you’ve never seen ‘em before. Thought you said you’ve been here dozens of times and they have the best cheesecake in this galaxy.”

The Doctor watched more people walk by before he turned to Rose. “Yes, I have been here before but it wasn’t like this,” he said softly with a look of concentration on his face.

“Maybe we landed in the wrong year. It’s not like you haven’t done that before,” Rose teased.

The Doctor turned to her, a stern look on his face. “I have never landed in the wrong year. Just because some parallel version of me is rubbish driver doesn’t mean I am,” he said with a tight angry voice. He dropped her hand and stormed away. He hated it when she compared him with that other Doctor. He failed to see why she hadn’t moved on yet. He had proven himself over and over again. It was time for her to shut the door to her past and focus on the present and him.

Rose ran up to him, knowing he was once again angry with her. “Doctor, wait!” she called out, grabbing his arm.

He stopped abruptly glaring at her. “I’m not him.”

“I know you’re not him,” Rose answered, upset that they were having this argument yet again.

“If you know that, then stop comparing me!” the Doctor ordered her.

“Look, I’m sorry if you think I’m comparin’ you but the truth is, I’m not. Yes, some things you do remind me of somethin’ that happened to me back in that universe. I can’t help it. It’s part of who I am. You can’t expect me to never talk about my past.”

“Yes, I can,” he answered, ready to vent his frustrations. The moment he realized he’d fallen in love with her, everything changed for him. He wanted her to commit to this him and the life they could have here. He wanted to make new memories with her and be able to reminisce about their adventures not some other parallel him. He almost despised the other Doctor for having a past with his Rose.

“It’s not fair. I don’t ask you to ignore your past. As a matter of fact, I’ve told you we can talk about anythin,” Rose argued with him.

“So you want to here about the war? Is that it? You want to hear about how many people I’ve killed? Or maybe, you want to hear about how I can never go home to my own planet,” he snipped at her.

That was it for Rose. She had been trying to be understanding and help draw him out but he was being stubborn and pig headed not to mention jealous. “You can’t go home and think I won’t understand that? Like I can just pop home and visit my Mum whenever I want!” she shouted at him. “It’s not like I have anything except memories now. At least you still have your planet.”

He tensed and got up close until he was looming over her. “You have nothing do you?” he said in a sharp angry voice. “So that’s the way it’s to be. I’m nothing so you cling to your memories of that pathetic Time Lord who was going to leave you on a beach to wallow away with his human self,” he snapped at her. “I mean, why even bother with me when you can fantasize about him. That’s what you do isn’t it! Use me while you fantasize about him!”

Rose slapped him across the face. “Don’t you even dare say that to me!” she answered back, shaking with anger. “Back on Earth, I chose you even though I barely knew you. I left him and my family because of what you told me. I did what I thought was best and because I thought…” she started to say and paused. “Well, maybe I got it wrong. Maybe all you are is some angry, bitter old Time Lord who can’t share his life with anyone! I thought somewhere deep inside there was a real person who cared so I took a chance and stayed. Now look at me, always rowing with you and all you do is shag me and run away from lettin’ me in to find out who you really are.

“And, gawd knows I’ve tried to get close to you, tried sharing myself with you and all you do is shut me down cause I’m not supposed to talk about my past. You know what? I’m tired of apologizin’ and walkin’ on eggshells around you. My past is what made me who I am today. I’m not gonna apologize for that !”

“Haven’t shared myself with you?” he said with clenched teeth. “I’ve given you more than I’ve ever given anyone! You who come here with all your human baggage and preconceived notions of what a Time Lord is and always comparing me to some glorified version you have in your mind. You may say you’re not but you are. I’m telepathic, remember? You think I don’t catch those spare thoughts from you? Well, I do and I won’t have it! He’s gone and I’m here! You’re lucky to even have me. If it wasn’t’ for me, you’d be on some examination table being vivisected. It’s not like you even appreciate that. Let me be clear to you. My Tardis, my rules and that means no more thinking about what this other tosser of a Time Lord would do! You’re with me now and you should keep that in that little blonde head. I’m all you’ve got and if you don’t like it…don’t let the Tardis door hit you on the arse on the way out!” He shouted loudly.

“Fine! Go be a misery to someone else,” she announced and stormed off so angry there were tears in her eyes.

“The only misery is the one walking away!” he shouted after her. “Go on and enjoy living with the ghost of your past. Let’s see how warm that keeps you at night!” Rose never turned back to look at him other than to shoot him the two fingered salute as she walked away.

The Doctor turned and angrily walked back to the Tardis, slamming the door behind him. “She needs to learn a lesson,” he said out loud and began flipping switches and soon was dematerializing the Tardis despite the fact the Tardis was shaking and sparking a warning at him. Once he was in the Vortex, he shoved his hands in his pockets and began pacing. “Why does she have to be so stubborn? Why can’t she just accept how things are and just be here and love me?” he muttered angrily.

He stopped and sat on the pilot’s seat and looked over at a blue, black and silver diary that was sitting there. He picked it up, remembering buying it for her on a shopping trip. She had been delighted with it and smiled brightly at him and insisted on buying him a set of silver cufflinks for his suit which were inscribed, “Forever Your Rose.” He looked over at the console. “This wasn’t here before.” The lights seemed to flicker. He looked down at the diary and pulled out his sonic. “I shouldn’t read this. It’s private.”

He unlocked and it read Rose‘s long flowing hand writing. Some of it didn’t’ surprise him but some did. It was mostly about him and the places they’d gone and her conflicted feelings about letting the past go. Some of it was about her worries for her family and how hard it was to let go. She confessed jealousy of the other Rose who would have her Mum. There was also concerns for him and how quickly her feelings for him had intensified. He shut it with a snap. “What have I done?” he whispered, in a horrified voice. He jumped up and ran to the Time Rotor. “I need to get back and find her. I should never have left her. Especially, not there. Something was wrong and I let it get to me and now I’ve left her in a danger.” He raced around the console in obvious distress, knowing he needed to get back there as soon as possible. He was getting a really bad feeling that something horrible was about to happen.

***********

 

Rose stormed through the village, her hands shoved in the pockets of her black leather coat. She was hurt and angry at the Doctor. He could be so acerbic, vicious and a right jealous git. Angry tears trailed down her face as she eventually reached the end of the village. She walked across a field of tall blue-green grass filled with neon green orchid-like flowers. She stopped in the middle and sank to her knees. For just this moment she allowed herself to cry and not just cry but bawl her eyes out.

They had spent so much time running and not talking about what had happened on Earth. Neither of them had truly dealt with the consequences. Rose hadn’t taken the time to mourn all she had lost so she allowed herself this time to weep. She cried for her mother who she would never see again and who would never miss her; for her brother who she would never see grow into a man; for the father who although not her father, still treated her like the daughter he wished he’d had; for all the friends at Torchwood who she had not appreciated at the time and all they would become; for Mickey who had stood by her even when she was horrid to him; for all the friends on her original Earth who believed her happy and settled in a parallel world; and finally, for her original Doctor who she knew was alone now. She would always bear a small amount of guilt for leaving him even though she knew a part of her had returned to him when he needed her most even if he’d left her behind.

She allowed herself a few more tears and when she was through, she looked up at the sea green sky of this world and prayed to whatever god or gods existed in this universe to care for the Doctor she had left behind. She took a few more deep breaths and looked down at her grass stained jeans and thought about the Doctor in this Universe. She didn’t mean to compare him and would make sure he understood that even if she had to tell him every day. She also wouldn’t let him get away with the bitter accusations he hurled at her today. He was going to talk to her, even if it killed them both.

She looked down and picked her nails nervously. Of course, all of this was dependent on if he let her back on the Tardis. She was sure he had left since she couldn’t hear the Tardis in her head any more. That was yet another thing they had not talked about, the changes in her. There were so many things they needed to work out. She hoped it wasn’t too late. She slowly stood up and walked back through town. Most of the villagers seemed very genial and nodded to her as she walked by. Rose wondered what it was about this place that had initially disturbed the Doctor. She sighed again and decided to add it to the growing list of topics to discuss with him.

When she reached the pasture where they had landed the Tardis, it was empty. Rose groaned and found a stone wall to perch on while she waited for him. She was fairly certain he would be back. Of course, what she wasn’t so certain of was how long he would stay in that foul mood. As she waited, watching this worlds version of pastel colored sheep meander by, she again felt irritation growing. Oh, but he better not take a year to get here. She was not much for farming which seemed to be the main economy on this world.

Many hours later, she sat leaning against the stone wall trying to stay warm under the night sky. The stars sparkled above her and the green tinged moon cast an eerie glow in the pasture as a few of the sheep baaed and shifted in their herd.

“Had to row with you in the middle of no where didn’t’ I,” she muttered and picked up a few loose stones and tossed them across the field. “Git of Time Lord. Why couldn’t you just listen to me.”

All of a sudden, the hair on the back of her neck stood up and she shivered. Someone was here. She jumped up ready to face who or whatever it was only to find the Rani leaning against the stone wall. “And what do we have we here? Abandoned already. Poor little lost wolf. Whatever shall you do?” she asked in a dry humorless voice.

“Stop it!” Rose ordered. “Don’t you have some planet to destroy?”

The Rani smirked. “Not really. Especially, not when my people are already doing such a good job of that.”

“What do you mean?” Rose asked, suspicious of anything that came out of the Rani’s mouth.

“Look around you,” the Rani said, holding her arms out wide. “This planet at this point in their timeline should be technologically far more advanced than simple farmers. Surely, he noticed despite your rather unique and charming distractions.”

Rose’s eyes widened. That’s why he was so out of sorts. She then focused on the Rani. “Yeah, he noticed. So you’re sayin’ it was the Time Lords that did this? But why?”

The Rani laughed. “Why? To control this species of course. They were a space faring race that had a habit of spreading out and colonizing other worlds, forcefully when necessary. Not unlike humans. You see, the Time Lords have enacted a new policy, control development of young races to stamp out any nasty aggressive traits such as imperialism. It’s for the greater good. Of course, one might question for the greater good of whom.”

After Rose recovered from the horror of such manipulations and the anger simmering inside of her, she spoke. “But, the development and evolution of certain species is fixed and stunting it like this would cause a paradox.”

“Very good,” the Rani said smiling. “At least you’re paying attention and understand the greater ramifications unlike your oblivious lover. One altered fixed point might be controllable by the council, but multiple alterations on the scale Omicrex is attempting will likely result in a universal implosion. I’m sure you understand what that means,” the Rani said with an edge to her voice.

“Yeah, a bunch of arrogrant Time Lords are ‘bout to destroy the universe,” Rose responded, crossing her arms and staring at the Rani, sure that she was about to try something. After all, in her last encounter with the Rani, she wanted to experiment on Rose or use her to attack said nutter Time Lords.

“Not all the Time Lords agree with this policy,” the Rani lectured and began pacing. “But, they won’t do anything on their own. You see, many of them are not unlike the beasts in this field,” she said pointing to the sheep. “They tend to want to stay in the heard and are fearful to stand up against Omicrex. If someone were to lead them…say, someone with a powerful ally…” she drawled, staring pointedly at Rose.

“You mean the Doctor and me, don’t ya?” Rose asked, watching the Rani pace around her almost like a tiger stalking her prey.

The Rani looked irritated. “The Doctor knows this and has done nothing. He chooses to run from the problem rather than face it. He’s not up to the challenge, but you and I…”

“Not bloody likely!” Rose exclaimed at the Rani’s suggestion. “Look, I know the Doctor’s been out of sorts and he might be a bit miffed at his people what with them imprisoning him on Earth and all. Just let me talk to ‘im. Once he knows that it was the Time Lords that did this…” Rose started to explain until the Rani whipped out a stun wand and shot her. Rose collapsed to the ground, cursing at the Raini. “You bitch, he’ll come for me,” she gasped.

The Rani walked over to her laying on the ground. “Oh, I’m counting on that and when he does, he’ll do as I tell him. His weakness has always been that he cares too much.” As Rose blacked out, the Rani nudged her unconscious body with her foot. “Hardly looks dangerous now,” the Rani mused. “I’m sure it won’t take me long to unleash the power within you and then we can make some progress,” she announced and snapped her fingers as several of the villagers with blank expressions on their faces walked up to her like zombies and began carrying Rose to the Rani’s Tardis.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No smutz this chapt but there is Angry Dark!Ten and Bad Wolf pops in for a visit much to the Rani's dismay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special shout out to timelord1 who suggested including a reference to The Rite of Spring. What a fascinating story behind that ballet! Apologies for the demarcation marks. I could not get them to center without centering the whole chapter.

When the Doctor arrived on Regalos he burst out the doors of the Tardis to find an empty pasture. Rose wasn’t there and he was met with nothing but the sound of the wind rustling through the trees. Even the sheep were gone. He paused and inhaled, stretching his mind out. He gasped when he realized he couldn’t feel her.

“No!” he whispered with ferocity. He ran to the nearby town which was now vacant, unkempt and almost like a ghost town. The Doctor ran from vacant building to vacant building, slamming doors and cursing. He spun around in the town square tugging at his hair in frustration and panic. One thought was repeating in his mind. “I’ve lost her! I’ve lost her and it’s all my fault!”

Thunder sounded and dark clouds were gathering. He looked up as the first drop of rain fell, hitting him in the forehead. He wiped it off almost like he didn’t know what it was, his dark and haunted eyes staring almost sightless around him as the beginnings of panic set in. Then, he heard a muffled sound. He whipped around towards a small shop on the square, focused on the sound and pinned down the source. The rain fell in sheets, drenching him, but he didn’t care. He raced toward the shop where the sound was coming from. He threw open the door, anger at Rose’s loss vibrating off of him and looked around in the darkened supply store. A few lanterns creaked and swung in the breeze blowing in through the open door.

He heard the sound again and realized it was crying. With his sonic out in front of him he marched through the shop, dripping water on the dusty floor. He found a woman clinging to a child and hiding behind some shelves. She looked up at him in terror.

His first inclination was to angrily demand what had happened to this thriving community but then that little piece of Rose that had burrowed ever so deep into his consciousness gave him a thump. No, Rose wouldn’t have wanted him to further terrorize this woman. He took a breath and internally cursed how close he’d let Rose get and how even when not present, she still made him stop. He lowered his arm holding the sonic and tried his best to not look intimidating.

“I’m not going to hurt you. What’s your name?” he asked, his voice sharp and revealing the anger simmering within him.

She just stared at him and, in particular, the sonic. He sighed and rolled his eyes, muttering about primitives. He put it away and held up his hands to show he meant no harm. “Look, I’m not here to hurt anyone. I’m just trying to find out what happened. I left a friend here and I can’t find her. Just tell me where everyone is!” he demanded.

“The sorceress. She came and used her evil magic on my people. She made them her slaves and took them away,” the woman said, still sobbing and clinging to the young girl in her arms.

The child looked up at the Doctor with bright aqua colored eyes. “Are you a good wizard? Have you come to save us?” the girl asked.

The Doctor looked at the obviously malnourished child and was taken aback. This would have been something Rose would handle so he could get to the guts of the matter rather than being sucked into the domestics.

“You said a sorceress took your people? Was she pale like me?” the Doctor asked, trying to temper his annoyance.

The child nodded her head. “She was tall and pale with long brown hair. She wore strange robes and she used a wand like yours but different,” the child explained in her small voice.

The Doctor began pacing and wondering who this sorceress could be. He stopped suddenly and turned toward the woman and child. “You didn’t happen to see another pale woman? One with fair hair like sunlight?”

The woman stopped weeping and looked at him. “Yes. The Sorceress ordered my people to carry her to her magic stone altar.”

“Magic stone altar?” the Doctor asked, scratching his head and becoming aggravated with having to work this out through such a primitive culture. “What sort of stone altar and why was it magic?” he demanded crankily.

The little girl stared up at him with intensity. “It looked like a pillar you would find in our temple and it swallowed them whole,” she explained in a very child-like manner.

“A stone pillar ate everyone including the sorceress and my Rose,” he said angrily with a bit of sarcasm. “Well isn’t that just bloody brilliant,” he muttered and kicked a box on the floor.

“Was the fair lady your princess?” the child asked as the older woman stared at the Doctor expectantly.

The Doctor stared at both of them and his irritation waned slightly. Maybe she was his princess. She was the princess and he was the dragon who coveted her. What an apt description of them he thought ironically. He looked around the small shop and back at the woman and child. “You’re starving and yet there’s all this food here. Why aren’t you eating?” he asked gruffly.

“When the Sorceress came, my husband hid us in the cellar. He locked us in and we stayed there waiting for him to let us out but he never returned. We ran out of food and eventually found a way out but everyone was gone,” the woman said, tears running down her face.

The Doctor turned to the child who seemed too calm for her age, especially considering what they had just been through. He walked over to the shelves and soniced some packages open, handing them to the woman and child. “Here, eat.”

The woman grabbed the dried goods and handed some to her child while she began shoving food into her own mouth. The little girl chewed on some dried fruit and stared up at the Doctor as if she was waiting to see what he would do next.

Nervously tapping his sonic against his arm, the Doctor paced, thinking about what a sorceress and a magic stone altar meant. Then it hit him and he turned toward the child. “You said the stone ate them. You meant the sorceress, Rose and the villagers?” The child nodded as she chewed.

“When did this happen?” he demanded.

The child’s mother looked up and cowered back from him, terrified at the intensity in his eyes. He stood stiff and intimidating over them, radiating a leashed violence as his anger over someone stealing Rose overwhelmed him. The little girl seemed not at all bothered by his angry demeanor. “It was when the moon was full.”

The Doctor looked away and rubbed his face. He walked over and ran his hand along a dusty counter and rubbed the dust between his fingers, eventually licking it off his digits. He turned back and stared at the mother and child. “Two weeks. I’ve been gone two weeks. This happened not long after I left,” he said softly. And then turned and violently swiped the counter clean of everything sitting on it and cursed. “Too late! I arrived too late! If only…” he said, swearing and pacing. He looked up at the ceiling “Oh, and she is never going to let me forget this either!”

Then he stopped. She wouldn’t let him live it down, if he found her in time and if she agreed to come away with him. Fear began slinking its way through him like a viper making a nest in the pit of his insecurity. “If he found her and if she would come back to him,” he thought and gripped his sonic in his hand squeezing it hard as if he could exorcise and expel all of his insecurity and doubts.

He looked back at the woman and child. “This is all wrong. Your culture should be far more advanced and certainly not enslaved by some so called evil sorceress.” He waved his sonic about in the air, making the woman and girl flinch. He looked back at them. “I’m going to find Rose and fix this.”

He then abruptly turned and stormed out of the shop, paying no heed to the freezing rain pelting him. This had the markings of the Rani. An angry calm descended over him and he radiated danger and a rage so cold that if anyone had been near they would have fled screaming having sworn that death itself had just brushed past them. When he entered the Tardis, the emptiness hit him. “You should be here,” he said, thinking of Rose and walked over to the console and began looking for traces of the Rani’s temporal signature. It was faint but he found it. He also began running another scan, one for an entirely different purpose. He wasn’t going to take any chances. While inputting information he paused and focused on Rose thinking, “Rose, hang on. I’m coming to get you.”

 

******************************

 

Rose was in a warm relaxed place just drifting in and out of sleep when she heard her mum shouting at her to “Get your arse out of bed!”

She sat up and stared blearily around herself. She was in the guest bedroom of the Tyler mansion and sunlight was filtering through the gauzy curtains which were blowing inward. Rose shivered, wondering why someone would leave the windows open in the winter. It was freezing in there. Jackie stood at the end of the bed dressed in her big, pink fluffy dressing gown, hair tied up and with her hands on her hips.

When Rose began to focus, it hit her. She was in Pete’s World. It shook her to her core and panic set in. “Was it all a dream?” she wondered, feeling sad and fearful that it was.

“Rose, I said get your arse up this instant! There‘s no time for a lie in! You’re gonna be late for work!” Jackie shouted again.

Rose hopped out of bed, dressed only in a sleeveless pink cotton chemise and wrapped her arms around herself. She was confused and tried to think back to what had happened. She was with the Doctor, her new Doctor and then….everything went fuzzy. She looked back at Jackie who was looking annoyed and tapping her foot.

Rose padded toward the window, her bare feet sinking into the plush cream-colored carpet. She shut the window but still felt like she was in a freezer. She turned to Jackie. “Mum, Somethin’s happened. I found the Doctor but it was a different Doctor and then….” Rose started to explain but stopped as she searched her memories. Soon, she was remembering more. “I was in a parallel universe. I…I had to send another me through the Void.”

She looked at Jackie with tears in her eyes and walked over to her. “I’m sorry, Mum. I tried to do the right thing. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone,” she said tearfully.

“Well of course you didn’t, Sweetheart. It’s what you do, savior of the universe and all,” Jackie said and hugged Rose as she wept.

“I’m so sorry, Mum! Please forgive me. I just want you safe and happy.”

Jackie pulled back and wiped tears off Rose’s face. “I am and you did what you had to just like you always do. My sweet girl, always trying to save everyone and putting yourself last. You did it though. You saved everyone and now it’s time to save yourself.”

Rose stared at her still confused. “What do you mean? How can you be so nice to me when I made such a mess of things, especially with the Doctor? He‘s gone and I don‘t know, Mum. I just don‘t,” she said, upset and inconsolable.

“Oh Rose, how can you say that? Are you tellin’ me that all those times you took off after himself meant nothin? And what about the one who’s filled with anger and pain? You just gonna walk away from ‘im?” Jackie said, shaking her head.

“No! I love him! I do! You know that, Mum!” Rose shouted back, still shivering from the cold. “Why’s it so cold in here?” Rose looked toward the door. “Somethin’s comin isn’t it?”

“Somethins always comin’ for you, Sweetheart. You know that just like you know you have to wake up.”

Rose shook her head. “I don’t understand. I am up, right here with you.”

Jackie took her hand and walked her out of the room and Rose found herself in a hospital surgical observation room looking down at a surgical amphitheater. She gasped when she saw herself strapped down to a table with machines hooked up to her. “That’s me! What…how…I don’t understand. Am I dead?” she asked, shaking.

Jackie looked down through the window and shook her head. “How the two of you got this mucked up I’ll never understand. All I know is if you don’t wake up now, you never will. Do you understand me, Sweetheart?”

Rose stared at her. “You’re not really my mum are you?” she asked, starting to get a grip on what was happening.

Jackie just smiled at her.

“Oh, gawd, I’m stuck in my head aren’t I? That’s really me down there,” Rose said in a shaky voice, stumbling away from the window until her back hit the cold wall. It was like a floodgate opened and the memories flooded her mind. She clawed at her head and sank to the floor as burning pain seared through her mind.

“That’s it, Sweetheart. You’ve got to fight. I know you can do it!” Jackie said, kneeling beside her.

“Who are you? What’s happenin’ to me?” Rose demanded through eyes squinting in pain.

“You know me. You’ve always known me. Now, you’re gonna be okay but you need to let go and trust yourself. Remember, you’re not alone. I’m always with you just like he is.”

“Whadda ya mean?” Rose asked, tears running down her face.

“You already know the answer to that. It’s time for you to wake up and stop this nonsense from goin’ any further. It’s time to show that evil old witch what for!”

Rose winced some more. “You…you mean the Rani? Oh…gawd! The Rani attacked me! I can’t! It hurts!”

“It’ll hurt more if she finishes what she’s started. Now Rose Tyler you move your arse and deal with her! Jackie Tyler’s daughter doesn’t lie there and let some slapper Time Lady walk all over her! Now shift! He’ll be here soon and you don’t want him to find you like this!”

Rose felt the pain increase but she also felt something else, something familiar. A song played in her mind and it helped her to focus. She needed to stop this, to keep her Doctor safe. In a burst of energy she tore her way out of unconsciousness and sat up, snapping the restraints that had bound her to an examination table in the Rani’s Tardis. Her abrupt movement startled the Rani who was poised to pump some cocktail of chemicals into her. She grabbed the Rani’s arm and in a calm and powerful voice said, “No!”

The Rani dropped a device resembling a gun with a tube of yellow fluid in it and it clattered to the metal floor. The Rani issued a terse “Stop her!” and several of the blue skinned natives from Regalos appeared and were walking stiffly toward Rose, who was still focused on the Rani.

The air crackled around the two women as a slight glow surrounded Rose. “I do not wish to hurt you. You will stop this now!” Rose ordered in a firm but ethereal voice.

“I will not have some mutated primitive species order me about on my own Tardis!” the Rani said snarled angrily, jerking her arm hard enough to stumble backward, hauling Rose off the table. The Rani thumped the wall and Rose stood before her, immovable and staring at the Rani as if she was some unique life form that interested her.

“This will stop now,” Rose repeated, her voice still resonating with an otherworldly quality. The Rani grabbed Rose around the neck with her free hand and squeezed. Rose, still holding her against the wall, used her free hand to casually pull the Rani off, twisting her wrist until it snapped. The Rani cried out and stared at her broken wrist in disbelief. “This will stop,” Rose said again, still holding the Rani against the wall with little expression on her face, her dark golden eyes almost staring through the Rani.

“I can see your timeline, all that was, is or ever could be. You are tiny, barely a ripple in what is to come.” The Rani shuddered as she felt Rose examining her timeline and manipulating time around her. It was like nails on a chalk board, causing an intense pain in her mind and leaving her sure she was about to regenerate. She gritted her teeth trying not to cry out.

By this time the Rani’s slaves had reached them. Rose abruptly stopped her manipulations of time and casually tossed the Rani across the room until she slammed against a wall with a thud, sliding down unconscious. Rose then turned to the Regalosians and waved her hand. “You are free from the false god.” The Rani’s slaves fell unconscious to the floor. Rose stepped over them and walked at the door, pausing to look back at the Rani who was now conscious and huddled in a corner of the room staring at Rose in fear.

“This is not for you,” Rose said, in a condescending cold voice. She turned and looked at the fallen Regalosians. “You will help undo the damage done to time.” Rose turned and left the Rani stunned and trying to understand what had happened.

It took the Rani a long time to recover and when she did, she reached out for her Tardis only to find a symbolic door slammed in her face. “No,” she breathed. “It’s impossible!” Try as she might, the Rani learned she only had a limited connection with her Tardis. It was unfathomable to her that Rose or whatever she had become was able to bypass her telepathic connection to her ship and limit her access. She cradled her broken wrist and ran out of the room and into the bowels of her ship away from whatever Rose was or had become. She needed time to recover and develop a new plan. Unbeknownst to the Rani, Rose was directing her to where she wanted her. The Rani was at her mercy and lucky for the Rani, Rose was feeling very merciful that day.

*********************

 

The Tardis landed on the fifty-first century Earth colony of Odette. The door to the Tardis slammed open and the Doctor came flying out. He was in an alley beside a modern metal and glass building and he could hear music and the murmur of people coming from within. He also sensed that the target of this trip was located inside the theatre and quickly soniced his way in through an emergency exit. He was confronted by security and flashed his psychic paper as he roughly pushed through the guards on a hunt for a very particular quarry.

He ignored the dancers and stage hands back stage at the theatre, all of whom jumped out of his way. He had no time for distractions and exuded an intensity and a sense of danger that you did not need to be psychic to sense. Very quickly he zeroed in on his target and climbed up a metal scaffolding until he found himself above the stage. Lounging in the center of the cat walk amidst wires and lighting, was the Corsair, seemingly relaxed and taking swigs out of an ornate blue bottle next to her. She smiled broadly as the Doctor stomped over to her.

“Doctor! Fancy seeing you again so soon! And where is our lovely flower?” the Corsair greeted with a jovial smile which didn’t quite reach her eyes. The Doctor may have been in dark and raging mood, but the Corsair hadn’t had an easy time of it either. The Time Lords had been vigilant in their hunt for the rebel Time Lords, leaving most of the Corsair’s normal haunts no longer safe.

“She’s gone,” the Doctor answered stiffly and shoved his hands in his pockets and paced forward, glancing down at the stage before looking back at the Corsair with a burning look in his eyes. “The Rani took her.”

“And how did that happen?” the Corsair snapped, slamming her bottle down on the metal catwalk.

The Doctor looked up toward the roof of the building and pinched the bridge of his nose. “We rowed and I…sort of left her to stew a bit on Regalos. When I returned, she was gone and the Rani had laid waste to the town.”

“You bloody idiot! How the hell could you leave her alone like that! You’re just lucky it was the Rani and not Omicrex or the CIA that grabbed her!” the Corsair shouted at him, now standing up and getting in his face.

The Doctor looked pained and nodded his head. “You’re right and I know that now,” he answered almost tonelessly. “I need to get her back and I need to get back to Regalos. Something’s happened there. That society’s development is wrong.”

“Well of course it’s wrong! Omicrex has gone mad with power and is altering any civilization that has what he feels are threatening tendencies. The council have lost their minds and Gallifrey is going to hell in a hand basket.”

The curtains rose in front of the stage, the lighting dimmed and music began floating upward. The Doctor looked down and saw the dancers and then looked at the Corsair with a brow raised in question.

“What?” the Corsair asked.

“This is The Rite of Spring and if I’m not mistaken, we’re on Odette in the year 5124,” the Doctor said, glancing back down at the stage as the dancers began their dance of jerky, odd movements in response to the music which was filled with an explosion of percussion and almost violent rhythmic grinds and shrieks. He looked at the Corsair expectantly just as the first shout could be heard from the audience.

The Corsair smiled and looked beneath them. “What? Can’t a lady enjoy a little musical brawl? It’s not like I can go many places with Omicrex’s cronies hunting me,” she complained as more shouting and a banging noise could be heard below them. She turned to the Doctor. “Do you know they’ve got my favorite saloon bugged, and in all the good time periods! I take one step on that planet and I’m time toast!” she said and kicked the metal scaffolding which knocked her bottle of Karnarian cognac off and it crashed onto the stage. “Oh culsatarn tribbits!” she cursed as beneath them chaos broke out around the smashed bottle. The audience rushed the orchestra and the stage in a musical carnage that would be infamous for years to come.

The Doctor looked over at the Corsair and grinned. The Corsair burst out laughing. “Well, guess we know how a ballet turned into a blood bath now don’t we!” She swaggered over to the Doctor. “Well come on then! Let’s go save your Rose and then we need to talk about the madness raging through the council. I take it you know where that scurvy wench has taken her.”

The Doctor’s amusement faded into a dark look. “Yes, I know exactly where she is. I thought it best I not face her alone or I might be tempted to….lose my temper. I can’t risk that with Rose in danger.”

The Corsair nodded. “Let’s go get our girl.”

It didn’t take long before the two Tardis dematerialized on an uninhabited forested moon. The Doctor raced out of his Tardis and ran at full tilt with sonic out, aimed at the Rani’s Tardis. That is until the Corsair grabbed his arm and yanked him back. “Don’t be stupid! You know the Rani. She’s devious and a cunning little snake. She also knows how much you care for your Rose. It’s a trap.”

The Doctor yanked his arm away. “As if the Rani would get the jump on me!” the Doctor raged, his temper flaring. “She’s done something to Rose. I can feel it.”

The Corsair nodded. “All right. Just be cautious. Don’t think I’m gonna come swinging in and save your arse if you do something rash.” The Corsair turned toward the Rani’s Tardis. “I got a bad feeling about this.”

“Agreed, but Rose is in there and she needs help,” he said and started walking toward the large stone pillar sitting in a grassy field. It soon became apparent that the Rani’s Tardis was open. Immediately, both the Corsair and the Doctor tensed. They looked at each other, nodded and walked in, ready for a fight. What they found was an empty, powered down console room and no Rose or Rani in sight.

“Damn peculiar,” the Corsair muttered as she walked around the room. “Something’s very wrong here.”

The Doctor stood unmoving and reached out with his mind. What he found puzzled him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor and Corsair find Rose! She may not be happy to see the Doctor. Parts of this are a bit light hearted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter picks up immediately after this one ends and will have smutz. I just can't keep these two apart for any longer.
> 
> I'm still learning about the Corsair so the character will evolve as I learn more about him/her. There's a great piece on tumblr taken from Neil Gaiman's notes on her/his character.

The Doctor’s breath caught. He could feel Rose but something powerful was surrounding her. This was something he recognized and it made him tremble just slightly. “I…think that the Rani may not be the main problem here,” he said slowly in a soft hesitant voice.

The Corsair gazed over at a corridor leading into the depths of the Tardis. “You had to go and say that didn’t’ you?” she snipped and shoved up her sleeve revealing an ornate metal cuff with Gallifreyan writing on it. She tapped it a few times and stared suspiciously at the corridor. “There’s something here, some temporal anomaly and it ain’t the Rani. As I recall our little flower has a nasty habit of regenerating Time Lords. I’m not too keen to change just yet. You go first.”

The Doctor looked annoyed. “Me? But she’s cross with me. She still likes you. Better you go first!” the Doctor retorted.

Before the argument could go further, both Time Lords felt the Rani’s distress echoing about her time ship. “We both go together,” the Corsair said, still looking annoyed. “But if she’s as angry as we think, then I’m shoving you in front,” she continued as they walked down the corridor.

“Thanks,” the Doctor muttered sarcastically. After cautiously walking down endless corridors with their time senses tingling and keeping them on edge, they heard chanting. Both took off running until they reached a laboratory and slipped into a far stealthier mode, tensing and prepared to take action against whatever lay within. As they made their way past tables containing various species suspended in stasis and stored in various enclosures, they found the Rani. She was gagged and bound to an examination table, surrounded by the Regalosians she had tried to enslave who were now praying over her. Her eyes met the Doctor’s and she sent out a blast of telepathic cursing that would have shocked most Time Lords. The Doctor just raised an eyebrow and watched her with a satisfied smirk on his face.

The Corsair grinned and started laughing. The Regalosians stopped their chanting and stared at the Doctor and Corsair.

“Ah…hello,” the Doctor said as calmly as he could, quietly pocketing his sonic, remembering the negative reaction of the woman and girl on Regalos to it. “I’m the Doctor and this is the Corsair and we’re here to help. Not that you need help with the way you have…sorted the Rani here,” he said motioning to the Rani. The Regalosians just stared at him. “Right. Look I need to find a friend who the Rani took from me. She’s pale with fair hair, sort of yellowish really, answers to the name of Rose. She‘s a bit obstinant and has an attitude the size of the Kasterboros system. She‘s probably having a snit somewhere,” he said groused, thinking of their row on Regalos.

Again the Regalosians just stared at him suspiciously and shifted closer together.

The Corsair punched the Doctor in the arm and he winced, glaring at her. “You are such rubbish at this!” She looked at the Regalosians and smiled brightly. “Sorry ‘bout my friend here. He doesn’t mean to be such a rude pain the arse. He’s just useless without his flower. Now then, I know the Rani over there did something horrible to you nice people, but we’re not like her. Are we, Doctor?” She asked and thumped him up the side of the head.

The Doctor glared at the Corsair, rubbed his head and turned to the Regalosians. “No, course not,” he said grumpily.

The Rani glared at both of them, squirmed and tried to talk through the gag across her mouth. The Corsair just grinned broader. “As you can see, we’re friendly. We’re here to rescue you and our friend, but we can see you have the scurvy wench trussed up quite nicely. Course, we’re still really worried about our friend, Rose. She was kidnapped same as you nice people. Don’t suppose you’ve seen her, have you? As you can see, this one here is a bit antsy to find her and make sure she’s safe.” The Corsair gestured toward the Doctor.

The Regalosians stared and then one spoke. “The golden goddess freed us from the false god. The pale heretic must be redeemed and reformed from her evil ways.”

The Doctor, who had been silently fuming at how long this was taking, suddenly perked up. He did his best to hide his amusement at the thought that these primitive people believed they could reform the Rani. The Corsair grinned beside him. “Well, aren’t you just an enlightened and decent group! Good for you!” She enthused and then stared mischievously at the Rani. “She sure does need a good reformation!” The Rani looked like she was ready to regenerate both of them.

The Doctor felt something telepathically tugging at him and focused on Rose. Visions of the Regalosians’ golden goddess began worrying him and he started tugging at his hair in aggravation. Finally, he snapped out of it. “Right well, since the golden goddess has…you know,” he said, waving his hand toward the Regalosians, “freed you, we should be off. Can’t keep the golden goddess waiting ya know. Allon-sy Corsair. Let’s leave the Regalosians to carry on redeeming the false god over there,” he said, backing them out of the room.

“Course! Need to pay our respects to the…Golden Goddess!” the Corsair agreed. “Well thanks, and good luck with the heretic!” the Corsair directed at the Regalosians with a saucy grin, winking at the Rani as she followed the Doctor.

“How the hell did she do that?” the Corsair asked as they made their way down the corridor, catching up to the Doctor who was silent and emanating anger at the Rani for whatever she had done to his Rose.

“She bloody well regenerated four Time Lords on Earth and is just oozing with temporal energy. Next to that, the Rani must have been a piece of cake and didn’t you hear? They called her the golden goddess,” he barked out, his voice filled with worry and fury that the Rani caused this to happen and he didn’t get a chance to vent at her. “She’s in trouble and we need to find her now,” he said, pulling his sonic out to scan while simultaneously opening up his senses to find her.

“You’re saying that temporal anomaly is Rose,” the Corsair stated, with little humor in her voice. “How can this be?”

The Doctor snorted. “She’s Rose and there’s nothing typical about her. She did something spectacularly stupid and incredibly selfless in the other universe. She absorbed the Time Vortex to save parallel me from the Daleks.”

The Corsair stopped abruptly. “But that’s impossible! She would have been killed!” she said in a hushed voice.

The Doctor’s eyes darkened as he remembered seeing the memories in Rose’s mind. “Parallel me saved her by pulling it out and returning it to his Tardis but he was sloppy, didn’t pull it all out and didn’t pay attention to what was happening to her. It changed her.” He paused and he looked down the corridor. “She is so much more, my uncommon Rose.” He looked back at the Corsair. “And she needs me now,” he said in a hard, emotional voice before he ran down the corridor.

After running up and down corridors, they eventually reached Rose. She was standing in a cathedral-like dark room made entirely of stone with floor to ceiling columns, arches and Gallifreyan symbols and reliefs decorating the ceiling and walls. Rose stood in the middle of the room next to a large round stone structure, almost well-like, gazing into its depths.

The Corsair stayed back, partly to let the Doctor approach her first and partly out of fear. She had never seen or felt anything like Rose. Time had wrapped itself around Rose in a way that was unfathomable to the Corsair. It was part of Rose and yet separate at the same time and constantly in flux as if Rose existed in several planes of existence simultaneously.

“Rose,” the Doctor said in a questioning voice, sonic screwdriver gripped tightly in his hand.

“You abandoned me,” she said, her voice sad and reverberating with something ancient.

“Rose, I…” he started to say before she interrupted him.

“Time is wounded, bleeding and scarred. It cannot continue. The universe will not stand for it. I won’t stand for it,” she said and turned to gaze at him with accusation in her golden eyes tempered by an immense sadness.

The Doctor knew he had to stop this before she was harmed. She may not be entirely human but she was not infallible and right now she was gazing through the Tardis’ interface into the eye of harmony. He had to stop her. “Rose, whatever is happening, we’ll fix it. But you have to stop this.” he ordered, taking a step closer to her.

The Corsair quietly circled around to get behind her while the Doctor continued to talk to her, observing what was happening and mentally forming a back up plan to subdue her if necessary.

“I know we’ve had disagreements and the Rani tried to harm you…” the Doctor started to say before Rose interrupted him.

“The false god has been neutralized,” she said with a flare of anger in her eyes. “She will pay for attempting to enslave me and the Regalosians.”

“Yes, I saw that,” he said, nodding and thought about what the Rani must have done to Rose to cause Bad Wolf to appear. “I can’t blame you for being angry and I can’t say I would have been so agreeable if I‘d gotten to her first,” he said, a hint of cold rage in his voice but then he focused on Rose again. “You’ve got to tell me what she did to you that caused this to happen. You can‘t continue on channeling time like this. It will destroy you. You must let me help you.”

Rose stared at him but it wasn’t his Rose. The look on her face was unfocused, filled with sadness and an eternal loneliness. “The false god, the Time Lady wanted to control me and everything inside of me, my time and my soul in order to destroy and conquer others.” She stood up straighter and looked at him and an inner strength flared. “No one controls me. What I am is not for her.”

“I understand,” the Doctor said, worried that this was taking too long. “Did she do anything to you? Why is Bad Wolf here?” he asked, not sure that was what was happening but needing answers.

Rose’s head cocked to one side. “Bad Wolf is everywhere, every when and always will be. Time Lords do not know all. You think you can control everything and everyone with your arrogance and science. Drugs, technology and knowledge will not control me.”

The Doctor had been slowly inching his way up to her. “And what if I don’t want to control you?” he said softly, his eyes gazing into hers. “What if what I want is something more?”

A golden tear trailed down her face. “More? What more can I give you? In your Time Lord arrogance and anger, you don’t see what is before you. You accused me of betraying you and instead of listening, wanted to intimidate and dominate me. Words are powerful weapons and no one wields them as you. You hurled the words like a dagger through my one human heart. How are you better than a Time Lady who experiments on me and tries to devour my soul?”

The Doctor felt guilt start to eat away at the anger that always seemed to simmer just beneath the surface. Part of him knew she was right but one part, a very Time Lord part of him, brushed it aside. He had to solve the present problem that was threatening her life first. He would deal with personal issues later.

He focused on getting much closer to her without startling her. Soon, he was so close he could feel the power of the vortex tingling against his skin. He leaned close to her. “You’re right. I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything. It hurt to think you wanted someone else more than me and I lashed out. Neither of us is perfect. I…regret what happened on Regalos. In hurting you, I…. well, it hurt more to think I’d lost you. Now, we both hurt and you know why?” he said, staring intensely at her and leaned in close to her ear. “Because we want each other so badly and we feel so much so deeply. We want to crawl inside each other’s soul and never be alone again and that scares both of us,” he said softly.

While the Doctor had been talking to Rose the Corsair had managed to get close enough to close the Rani’s Tardis’ connection to the Eye of Harmony. When it clicked shut, Rose gasped and stared into the Doctors eyes. As the golden light fled, she felt his mind trying to shelter and soothe her but all she could think about was, “You left me.” She collapsed into the Doctor’s arms and he eased her down and began scanning her with his sonic screwdriver.

“She’s been drugged,” he announced in a tight voice. “The Rani’s been pumping her with a solution of psychotropic drugs and nanogenes programmed to damage her cerebral cortex in an attempt to control her.” He scooped Rose up and began marching through the Rani’s Tardis until he reached a medical bay.

The Corsair followed silently behind him. She knew that any other creature exposed to such drugs in combination with the nanogenes would not recover. She only hoped that whatever Rose was, she was strong enough to survive this intact. If she didn’t, the Corsair shuddered to think what the Doctor would do. His rage was well known on not only Gallifrey but across the universe. Legend had it, when the Doctor went to war, the universe itself convulsed in terror.

Several hours later with a muttering Doctor slamming through the Rani’s medical bay, cursing her, Bad Wolf, a Doctor in a parallel universe and the fact that he was once again in a medical bay having to treat a wounded Rose, his patient awakened. The Corsair, who had been leaning against a wall criticizing the Doctor and shouting at him to settle down, watched Rose’s eyes flutter open. A smile emerged on her face as she watched time lines unfurl and untangle around Rose. She was going to be all right for now. The same could not be said for the Doctor.

The Doctor’s breath caught as he watched her sit up and rub her head. She looked around blearily as the Doctor walked up to her. “Rose, how are you…” he started to say before the broad side of her palm slapped him across the face causing him to stumble back a few steps.

He rubbed his face and looked over at her with a slight annoyance in his eyes. The Corsair chuckled quietly in the corner. “I think she’s all right. Don’t you, Doctor?”

Rose swung her legs around the table and glared at the Doctor. “You left me!”

The Doctor swallowed hard as he stared into the face of an angry Rose. “Yes, but I’m here now and anyways, you’re the one that stormed off,” he accused.

Rose stared at him for a long wanting to remind him why she stormed off but decided that could wait until later. “You came back I take it,” she said, crossing her arms.

“Of course I came back!” he almost shouted at her. “I would never just leave you!”

Rose arched a disbelieving brow at him. “And how long did that take?” she snipped at him.

The Doctor shoved his hands into his pockets and began pacing, obviously agitated. “I tried to come back right away but something happened and I arrived…a bit…late,” he finally spit out, not looking at her.

Rose smirked and then remembered she was angry with him. “Yeah, course you did. And while you were off having a snit fit, the Rani showed up,” she said and looked around the medical bay, her eyes finally lighting on the Corsair.

“Corsair!” she said with a smile. “What, are you doin’ here?”

“Well, lovely Rose, it appears the Rani absconded with you and most of that village you were in so the Doctor called me in for back up,” the Corsair said and looked at the Doctor.

Rose looked back at the Doctor who glared resentfully at the Corsair for still being in Rose’s good graces. “Okay, then what happened?”

“You don’t remember?” the Doctor asked concerned.

“The last thing I remember was the Rani showin’ up bein’ all evil and smarmy and then she zapped me with somethin’, then I woke up here.”

The Doctor and the Corsair exchanged a look. “What? What happened?” Rose asked, getting nervous. “What did you do to the Rani?”

“Darlin, we didn’t do anything to her. You did,” the Corsair answered.

“Me? But I couldn’t…I mean how?” Rose asked.

“Bad Wolf,” the Doctor answered. “The Rani was trying to control Bad Wolf and she got a bit of nasty surprise for her troubles. We don’t know exactly what you did but when we arrived, the Rani was a bit tied up and surrounded by Regalosians who were…” he explained but didn’t quite finish.

The Corsair decided to finish. “Oh you basically saved the Regalosians from enslavement and told them to have at the Rani, that she needed to be redeemed, rehabilitated and all,” the Corsair said with glee in her voice. “When we arrived she was all trussed up like a Christmas turkey and the Regalosians was praying really hard over her. Not that it’ll do much good! It’d take a couple of centuries’ worth of prayer to even scratch the surface on that one!” the Corsair said with a huge grin.

Rose paled and looked at the Doctor who quickly walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. “It’ll be all right, Rose. You’re safe,” he assured her.

Rose pushed him away. “But Bad Wolf,” she said, worry creasing her face. “I don’t understand why this is happening or how and why I can’t remember?”

“We may never understand this completely but this thing, Bad Wolf or whatever it is, appears to be a part of you that manifests when you’re threatened or it’s threatened. It seems to draw on temporal energy and gives you the ability to wield or bend time to your will which is dangerous and is why we‘re not going provoke it.”

“But I don’t remember anything. What if I hurt someone again?” Rose asked, worried about what she’d done…although not too upset about whatever happened to the Rani.

“You won’t. I’ll make sure nothing like this happens again,” the Doctor promised.

Rose looked at him pointed. “Really. That mean you’re done being a prat and abandonin’ me in the back of beyond?” she asked, a slight edge to her voice.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. “It wasn’t that bad. I mean if the Rani hadn’t shown up…”

“All right you two, that’s enough. Enough of your domestic squabbles! Rose is fine and we need to get those Regalosians back home and decide what to do with the Rani,” the Corsair announced.

Rose nodded and hopped off the exam table with the Doctor watching every move she made. She looked over at him and poked him in the chest. “I’m still angry with you and we‘re gonna talk later about you bein‘ a jealous git and takin’ off in a snit!” She then followed the Corsair out leaving the Doctor clenching his jaw and mumbling curses to himself.

The three of them flew the Rani’s Tardis back to Regalos and dropped off the Relagosians. The Corsair insisted that Rose play along as the Golden Goddess and set them free. The Doctor rolled his eyes while Rose ordered them home and to live long and prosper. After they dematerialized the Rani’s Tardis to head back to their own Tardises, Rose and the Corsair giggled about her very Vulcan blessing.

Once back on the moon, they decided none of them wanted to be responsible for the Rani and that they may need her help in the future dealing with the out of control Time Lords. None of them wanted to free the Rani and after listening to the Doctor and Corsair bicker about it, Rose came up wit the solution. After multiple games of rock, paper scissors, the majority of which the Corsair lost, she went back to free the Rani and walk her to the console room where the Doctor and Rose waited.

The Rani looked at Rose with a slight fear. Rose stood tall and intimidating and infused her glare with all the pent up anger she still had. She was pleased when the Rani flinched. The trio made her swear to never come near Rose again and told her they didn’t want to see her any time soon. Once they were off her Tardis, she wasted no time in leaving.

The Corsair turned to Rose and the Doctor. “Well, this calls for a celebration!”

“Why?” the Doctor asked grumpily. All he wanted to do was lock himself and Rose up on his Tardis and make things right between them.

Rose smiled brightly. “Whatcha have in mind, Corsair?” she asked brightly, knowing the Doctor didn’t want to do anything and enjoying this opportunity to punish him.

“The Flying Dutchman on Maluga Four in 5apple134! They make a helluva rumbalumba!”

The Doctor sighed. “Fine, one drink but you’re buying!” he insisted and grabbed Rose’s hand. She tugged him to a stop.

“Maybe I want to see the Corsair’s Tardis?” she said, looking at him perturbed.

His eyes darkened. “We. Are. Taking. My. Tardis,” he said enunciating each word and then yanked her toward his Tardis.

Rose looked over her shoulder at the Corsair who laughed and said she’d see her there.

Several hours later saw the three of them monopolizing one corner of the dark and smoky rustic saloon patronized by all manner of aliens. The Corsair had instituted a truce between the Doctor and Rose who had said very little on the way to the bar. As the liquor flowed and the night went on, they seemed more than able to set aside their differences. More than one rumbalumba had been enjoyed that night along with several banana daiquiris, shots of Alteran whiskey and at least one Pink Pussy which Rose insisted on getting because it was pink. Several songs were sung quite loudly and one duel was challenged. There may have been dancing on the table and several declarations of love were made. In the end, no one regenerated and two people ended up with tattoos.

The next morning Rose awoke with a headache and a sore spot on her hip. She looked around blearily wondering how and why she was in what looked like a dungeon. She heard a rumbling noise that reminded her of an alien hedgehog she’d run into and sat up quickly only to grip her pounding head. When her vision focused, she realized the noise was coming from the Corsair who was lying against a wall, snoring.

When she became a little clearer, she realized the Doctor was lying next to her with his arm thrown around her middle. He was moaning something about “don’t touch the red button” and his face was wrinkled in obvious discomfort. The air was damp and cool and smelled musty. There were bars on all the exits. Rose sighed, wondering if she’d set a record for getting tossed in a cell this many times and then pondered the best way to wake up a hung over Time Lord.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This Chapt: Hungover Time Lords and Rose. Events of said drunken night are revealed. A prison break happens. Oh and hot shower smutz! Please enjoy the gorgeous banner designed by Six on LJ who is AWESOME! Shower Smutz is for Callistawolf who suggested it during chat. I may be posting this before betas had time to review as I'm away from home and I just sorta want to post it. Yes, I know I'm bad. I should point out that the tattoo idea may have come from an email convo with my lovely betas.  
> Banner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shower Smutz is for Callistawolf who suggested it during chat. I may be posting this before betas had time to review as I'm away from home and I just sorta want to post it. Yes, I know I'm bad. I should point out that the tattoo idea may have come from an email convo with my lovely betas.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>    
> 

The first thing the Doctor noticed was that his senses were dulled as if he had been poisoned. He immediately set to cleansing his body of any toxins. As his senses cleared and sharpened, he noticed a throbbing pain in his head and a dull ache on his right upper arm. He sat up, and Rose shifted next to him. He could feel annoyance and something else unpleasant radiating off her in waves. He rubbed his eyes and ran his hand through his hair and looked around. They were sitting in a dark and dingy cell of some sort.

“Rose,” he said softly and squeezed his eyes shut and winced. “Where are we?”

Rose looked at him as if he had dribbled on his shirt. “Where does it look like?” she snapped at him.

He turned and glared at her. “Don’t get stroppy with me! I’m a bit…out of sorts and I don’t need attitude,” he said as he rubbed his temples.

Suddenly, the Corsair jolted awake, shouting out, “Mother puss bucket! In the lock up again!” The Doctor looked over at her as she smacked her lips with a disgusted look on her face. He then looked around, again squinting his eyes as memories began to filter through his big Time Lord brain.

Rose sighed. “So much for superior Time Lord biology,” she muttered grumpily. He snapped his head around to look at her. She rolled her eyes. “We’re in prison! We got pissed and ended up here wherever here is,” she said, her forehead creased as she pondered their drunken activities.

“Ohhhh,” he answered and then grinned and looked over at the Corsair who was shaking out her long raven hair and stretching out.

She looked up at him and smirked. “Helluva party! And you said you were done carousing with me after the last time!” she exclaimed in amusement.

The Doctor seemed to shake off the remaining effects of their drunken partying and smiled. “At least we didn’t end up in the Bank of London vault this time.” Both he and the Corsair howled in laughter at this.

Rose sat there with her head still pounding and shook her head at the two of them. Going on a bender with Time Lords was an experience. “What? You two have done this before? I thought alcohol didn’t affect Time Lords?”

“Oh, it doesn’t unless we allow it to and even then it takes a whole lot to give us a buzz,” the Doctor answered, brushing his coat off. “Now then, we should see about escaping,” he announced and hopped up, reaching down for Rose’s hand to haul her up. She winced as she jolted upward.

“A bit sore are we? Well, that’s what you get for over indulging!” he teased as he breathed in and seemed to shake off his hangover.

Rose glared at him. “It’s not fair! You should at least feel somethin’ after all you drank!”

He grinned at her not unlike his counterpart in another universe. “Superior biology,” he stated and sniffed arrogantly and then pulled her around to examine her. She winced slightly.

“So, talk to me. What’s wrong? Pounding headache? Rolling stomach?”

“Headache’s the worst. I already sorted the sour stomach over in the corner,” she said with a pained expression.

“Oh, that’s disgusting!” he exclaimed. “No wonder it smells vile in here!” he said, looking at her with a revolted expression on his face. “Get it out of your system now, ‘cos you’re not doing that on my Tardis!” he ordered.

Rose punched him on the shoulder and he winced and rubbed it. “That hurt!” he said and looked at his arm puzzled.

“Oh, don’t be such a baby! I barely touched you and besides, you’re the big old Time Lord with superior biology and all that!” she said and waved her hand in the air for emphasis before rubbing her temples.

“Yes, but that hurt and it shouldn’t have.” He began peeling off his jacket as the Corsair walked up grinning and looking a bit too pleased, as she adjusted her black pirate hat on her head. Rose looked over at her suspiciously and the Corsair winked at her. When she looked back at the Doctor, he had his dress shirt peeled down and was cursing. There, on his upper arm was a hot pink heart with Gallifreyan writing in half of it and, in the other half in black cursive writing, was the word “Forever” in English.

Rose couldn’t help herself and burst out laughing. The Doctor glared at her. “You think this is funny! Look at it. It’s…it’s…pink!” he shouted in horror while staring at the four-inch-sized heart tattooed on his upper bicep. Rose was still laughing and so was the Corsair in a loud bawdy laugh when the Doctor finally looked up.

The Doctor turned to the Corsair, fire in his eyes and a furious look on his face. “You did this, didn’t you, Corsair!” he shouted, his face flush with anger.

“Oh, no, Doctor! Wasn’t me!” she snorted out. “Twas your Rose who picked it out.” The Corsair finished and gave a jovial shove at Rose who had tears running down her face and was still giggling. The Doctor turned to Rose, his eyes pitch black.

“Rose, what…is the meaning of this!” he said slowly and deliberately.

Rose tried to stifle her giggling. “Umm, I..I don’t know,” she said as a few more giggles burst out. “I guess we had a little too much to drink and went and got you a tattoo.”

“I can see that!” he snapped, and then he turned to the Corsair who just stood there grinning and dusting herself off. “Don’t think you’re off the hook. Rose doesn’t know Gallifreyan and clearly, someone designed this…this…” he said unable to complete his sentence he was so out of sorts.

“Oh come on, Doctor! You didn’t have a problem with it last night. In fact, you insisted!” the Corsair informed him with glee. “And as for what it says…well, don’t look at me. You and Rose did it. You two sat down in a corner and when you didn’t have your tongue down her gullet you were sketching designs.”

“My tongue down her gullet?” the Doctor said with a roll of his eyes. “Really Corsair,” he said with a sigh and then paused. “Sorry, did you designs as in plural?” he asked, stopping as he was buttoning up his dress shirt.

The Corsair burst out in guffaws, slapping her hand on her thigh. “That is what I said,” she finally acknowledged and then looked at Rose.

The Doctor then also stared at Rose and cocked an eyebrow at her.

“What?” Rose asked, looking a little nervous.

“Anything you want to share?” the Doctor asked, inspecting her up and down.

Rose bit her lip nervously and thought about an aching spot on her hip. Before she could stop herself, she glanced downward.

“Ha!” the Doctor shouted triumphantly. “Go on! Show me!” he demanded, an evil glint in his eye. Rose stiffened and glared back at him.

“Oh, for the love of Gallifrey, just show him, or we’ll never get out of here!” the Corsair shouted. “It’s not like I haven’t already seen it. I was there, ya know!”

Rose’s mouth opened and closed a couple of times before she looked back at the Doctor who was staring at her, looking the picture of an impatient, demanding Time Lord. Again, he cocked an eyebrow as if saying “Well?” Finally, she sighed, unzipped and shimmied down her jeans. When she looked down at her hip, she gasped.

There, on her hip, was a three-inch sonic screwdriver with a rose vine wound about it. Rose looked up at the Doctor with an “I am not amused” glare. He had an evil grin on his face as he put on his glasses and knelt down to examine it.

“Doctor!” she chastised him. “You had some stranger tattoo a sonic on my hip!” Rose said perturbed.

“Oh, now hold on there, Rose!” the Corsair said with glee. “I’ll have you know that it was the finest tattoo artist on Maluga Four!” The Corsair cocked her head to the side and looked at the tattoo. “Damn fine work too! Even threw in the deluxe package as part of the deal!”

“Deluxe package?” Rose asked, a little bit afraid to hear what that meant.

“Oh, yes!” the Corsair said, obviously enjoying this. “The ink is flavored.”

The Doctor’s head snapped up and he stared at the Corsair with the beginning of a smirk. “Flavored how?” he asked.

“Oh, saliva activates it,” the Corsair answered, rocking back on her heels with a twinkle in her eyes.

“You mean like if someone were to…um…lick it,” Rose asked, getting a little flustered and although she wouldn’t admit it, getting slightly turned on by the thoughts of a certain Time Lord’s oral fixation. Especially, when that certain Time Lord’s hands were resting on her bare thigh gently caressing her.

“Yep!” the Corsair answered as she rolled up her sleeve and activated her sonic cuff.

“Who chose the flavors?” Rose asked all of sudden wanting to know more.

The Corsair just smirked. “You’ll have to find that out later.”

Rose looked down at the Doctor examining the tattoo. He pulled back and looked up at her with a naughty expression on his face. “What?” Rose asked.

“Nothing,” he said in a sexy, satisfied voice and stood up. “I like it.”

Rose swallowed hard and looked down at the tattoo. She started to notice that there were some swirly marks hidden in the rose vine. She looked back at him. “Is that Gallifreyan?”

He merely smirked and put away his glasses. Rose pursed her lips and pulled up her jeans. You gonna tell me what it says or come to think of it, what yours says?”

He straightened his coat and tie, pulled out his sonic and tossed it on the air catching it one handed and looked back at her. “Maybe, if you’re good.”

Rose was not in the mood for this. She still had a horrible headache and her stomach was still rumbling a bit. “Fine,” she said shortly. “Be a prat. It’s like your normal state lately.”

She then turned around in a circle looking at the cell. “Maybe one of you brilliant Time Lords wants to figure a way out or at least tell me why we're here? I mean you must have done something to get us tossed in here,” she accused, looking from the Doctor to the Corsair.

“Us?” the Corsair asked with a bark of laughter. “I think you mean the three of us! Don’t you remember?”

Rose stared at the Corsair and thought back and then it hit her. They had gone to the bar with the Doctor in a snit. The Corsair had ordered the first two rounds and Rose had been feeling pretty good and ready to blow off some steam. The Doctor was finally loosening up a bit as the Corsair kept goading him on with bawdy tales of their adventures before the war. Apparently, the Doctor had a habit of running into the Corsair and getting into trouble which always ended up with a night out of drinking, mischief and waking up hungover in jail or a dungeon or someplace equally awful.

Rose had lost count of the drinks and just remembered giggling a lot, singing some alien drinking song and there was some sort of card game which ended with her and the Corsair dancing the watusi on a table. It seemed like she was in the Doctor’s lap a few times and then somehow they ended up at the tattoo artist’s shop where the Doctor had shouted out his love for her, the Tardis, all of time and space, and bananas while the Corsair was bartering with the tattoo artist. After that, things got a little sketchy.

Finally she spoke. “Was there some sort of duel?”

“Yes, there was,” the Doctor said with little amusement in his voice. “Someone tried to touch you.”

Rose looked over at him and could see the underlying anger and rage. He was taut with it. “Whadda you mean touch me?” she asked nervously.

“No one touches what’s mine, especially when she says no,” he explained in a quiet dangerous voice. Rose started to remember. There was a drunken Silurian who kept asking her to dance and trying to buy her a drink. She had turned him down and said she was taken but the Silurian didn’t get the message and yanked her off her chair.

Before she knew what was happening, the Doctor was there and shoved him away, shouting something Rose didn‘t understand. She had fallen to the floor stunned. When the bar patrons cleared an area in the bar, the Corsair dragged her off to the side, telling her to keep her head down as this would be messy. Next thing she remembered, the alien charged the Doctor yelling some type of war cry and brandishing some spiked club. The Doctor pulled out his sonic, aimed and activated it and the creatures arms shot off, spraying blood everywhere. The Doctor cursed loudly, drunkenly stumbled backwards as he shook his sonic and grumbled about how the settings for disintegration and dismemberment were too close together. It was all blood and chaos after that as the entire bar erupted into fighting. Rose didn’t remember anything further after that. She figured that they must have been arrested during the bar brawl.

Rose inhaled and looked up at the Doctor. “You tried to kill ‘im,” she stated with a slightly shaky voice.

The Doctor stared at her a moment, his eyes black and piercing and he took a step forward until she could practically feel her skin prickle with Time Lord power enveloping her. “You told him you were taken, belonged to me and he tried to touch you, take you from me. No one takes what’s mine,” he said in a soft dangerous voice that should have made her frightened. Although she knew it was wrong, she couldn’t help that traitorous part of her that shivered in anticipation and desire for her Oncoming Storm.

The Corsair clapped her hands and rubbed them together startling the Doctor and Rose apart. “Righty then! Time to bust outta this dodgy cell. Come on, you two, let’s move!”

The Corsair boldly walked over to a hole in the cell wall with bars on it and punched some controls on what Rose later learned was a sonic cuff. The bars soon glowed red and disintegrated into dust. The Corsair turned back to them with a pleased look. “Now then Rose, you skitter on out and open the door for us.”

“No!” the Doctor shouted. “I don’t like it.”

The Corsair looked irritated. “The door is deadlock sealed on this side. She can take your sonic and open it from the outside. She’s the only one that can fit through the opening and she’s more than capable of handling herself!”

Before the Doctor could argue, and Rose knew he would from the angry expression on his face and the slight tick of a muscle in his neck, she got between them. “Stop it! I’m doin’ this. Someone has to get us out of here. Now, give me a leg up through the opening,” Rose demanded.

If it was possible for the Doctor to radiate displeasure, he did as he hefted her up to the opening. Rose squirmed through and fell down on the other side onto a cold stone floor. The corridor she was in was dimly lit and she could hear scratching noises and someone coughing. The Doctor’s sonic came tumbling down toward her. She caught it before it hit the ground and mumbled, “Thanks.”

She made her way in the approximate direction of where she believed the cell door to be, wincing as she stepped into a puddle on the floor. She tried not to think about what she was stepping in as a chilly breeze carried musty acrid odors which became stronger as she made her way forward along the corridor. Just as she reached a corner, she heard loud voices and someone or thing stomping toward her. She ducked back and flattened herself against the damp wall and hoped the shadows covered her. She heard them grunting and dragging something in the other direction and breathed a sigh of relief.

As Rose continued stealthily making her way down the narrow passageway, her mind was racing. The Doctor had tried to kill someone in a bar fight…over her. That was another topic to add to the ever growing list of issues between them and once they were out of here, they were going to have to start talking. She both looked forward to it and dreaded it.

She found the barred doorway which had an access panel on it to release the bars. She quickly soniced it while listening to the Corsair and Doctor bicker. It was definitely time to get them out of here before they regenerated one another. When the bars finally slid open, the Corsair and the Doctor looked up at her. “Ha! Knew she could do it!” the Corsair crowed, and glanced triumphantly at the Doctor.

“Rose!” the Doctor shouted and immediately stormed out to her. “Are you all right? What took you so long? he demanded of her, looking her up and down.

Rose stiffened and cocked a hip out, looking annoyed at him. “I’m not child! I can take care of myself ya know.”

“Really?” he said sarcastically as he took back his sonic. “As I recall, the last time you were on your own, you ended up as the Rani’s experiment,” he snarked at her.

Rose’s hackles immediately were raised. “Yeah, and I sorted her didn’t I?” she snapped back at him.

The Corsair meanwhile rolled her eyes and stormed passed them muttering about “domestics, a time and place, deserving each other,” and “I’m outta here,” as she stormed off down eh corridor.

“Enough,” he said decisively. “We’re leaving!” the Doctor spat out and grabbed Rose’s arm yanking her down the corridor. Rose struggled slightly not willing to give him the satisfaction of leading her out of the prison. She soon realized the Corsair was no where to be seen.

“Where’s the Corsair?” she asked.

The Doctor looked over at her and glared. “Where do you think! She got tired of your domestics and left.”

“My domestics!” Rose said in a low tight voice, trying not to shout and draw attention to them. “Who busted who out despite the fact he‘s being a complete git!” she retorted.

Before he could respond, they heard guards coming and ducked down a passageway to avoid them with the Doctor plastering Rose against a wall. He looked down at her trying to be quiet and staring down corridor worriedly as her heart sped up and adrenaline pumped through her body. The mixture of danger and desire was intoxicating to him and he breathed her in as if she was an exotic perfume. After the guards passed, she looked back up at him and stared into his heavily lidded passion filled eyes and desire flooded both of them. He leaned in close to her.

“Do you have any idea what I’m going to do to you when we get out of here?” he growled into her ear.

Her heart pounded and breath quickened as heat pooled low in her body. There was no doubt that her knickers were drenched, and traitorous thoughts of shagging him rotten against a wall were fighting against rational thoughts.

“What makes you think I’m gonna let you?” she responded in a raspy voice.

“Oh, you won’t just let me, you’ll beg me,” he answered back cockily and ground his hips against hers.

“You’re awfully sure of yourself,” she answered, her hands resting on his hips beneath his coat, her fingers dipping under the waistband of his trousers teasing him.

Another noise sounded interrupting them. He stilled and then pulled her against him away from the wall, issuing a terse, “Later,” before pulling her down the corridor.

They avoided armed guards and passed cells filled with sick and hurt prisoners. When Rose passed one cell with several dirty children in it, looking at her pathetically, she paused. The Doctor grabbed her arm and yanked her forward muttering “No time for this!” under his breath. After a while, Rose pulled him to a stop.

“Rose, No! We have to move now!” the Doctor ordered and pulled her forward.

“Doctor! Those were kids in there!” she chastised him. He didn’t respond or even look at her, just kept pulling her forward. “We can’t just leave ‘em! They need help!” she said in an angry indignant voice.

Finally, he stopped and turned toward her. “This prison is filled with criminals, Rose. We can’t save them all. We need to get out of here.”

“They’re kids!” she repeated and stared rebelliously at him.

“Yes, they are, and you don’t know what they did to get put in there. This planet is a known refuge for murders, thieves, slavers and worse.”

“Yeah, well, we ended up there, and we’re good people!” Rose argued.

The Doctor stood over her and his face darkened. “Are we, Rose…good people? How many have died at my hands and you…it’s not like you’re exactly innocent is it!” he bit out, making her wince. “We’re leaving now!” he said firmly and dragged her toward a door which he soniced open. They were halfway through this corridor when several guards came rushing at them from behind.

“Run!” the Doctor shouted, and they were once again running for their lives. The turned a corner and ducked into some type of administrative office and the Doctor soniced the door shut. Rose found a window that although not barred had solid Plexiglas on it. “Mind your eyes!” the Doctor ordered as he soniced the glass until it cracked and exploded. He knocked the rest of it out and looked down to find them one floor above an alley with a cart filled with hay below the window.

“He turned to her with a smirk. “Feel like a roll in the hay?”

Pounding sounded on the door and Rose scrambled up the window without another word and jumped with him seconds behind her. They rolled out of the hay and ran off dodging weapons fire until they were lost amongst a sea of people jostling their way through the busy streets.

They soon slowed down and blended into the crowd. After they had turned a corner and Rose realized they were only a block away from the Tardis, she came to a stop and pulled the Doctor into an alley.

“We can’t just leave,” she said firmly, looking him in the eye. “I know that the people in that prison may have done bad things but…they’re kids in there…young kids, Doctor. Even if they did something wrong or illegal, they didn’t deserve to live in that filthy place being mistreated. I mean, what about second chances and giving them the chance to make things right?” Rose asked.

He barely blinked at her and clenched his jaw while she pleaded with him. Finally, he said in a clipped voice, “Not my problem!”

Rose’s moral indignation reared up and since she was already angry at him for several transgressions, she decided she was going to show him up. “Yeah, well maybe I’m makin’ it my problem!” she said stubbornly but before she could turn around and do anything, he stormed over and threw her over his shoulder and began carrying her back to the Tardis.

“Whadda you think you’re doin!” she shouted, squirming as his hold tightened on her. “You can’t just treat me like this! Put me down!”

He ignored her and kept moving forward. When he saw the Tardis, he snapped his fingers and walked through the open door, snapping again once he was inside, the door clicking shut at his command. Rose almost growled in rage but he didn’t seem to care. He pulled his sonic out and aimed it at the console and soon they were dematerializing.

“Doctor, I’m warnin’ you! Put me down now right now!” she screamed at him, wiggling and beating on his back. He acted like nothing she did phased him in the least and made his way out of the console room and down the Tardis corridor. Rose continued to fume at being treated this way, cursing him in every language she knew.

He said not a word although his body was tense and if she had been paying attention, Rose would have noticed he was so tightly wound, he was about to explode. Soon, he marched into a dark room, dumped her unceremoniously down on a hard polished floor and activated his sonic. “You reek,” he said in an angry voice just as Rose was pummeled by several jets of water spouting from blue tiled walls and ceiling.

Once she caught her breath, she looked up to watch him toss his coat aside and then look down at her arrogantly with a satisfied smile on his face. Warm water dripped off of her as she thought about retaliation. She sat up and peeled her leather coat off and tossed it over so that it landed next to his. She unlaced her boots and tossed them off with her socks and stood up in her sopping jeans and blue lace top which now was plastered to her skin.

He watched her just out of reach of the water, his eyes almost caressing her curves. She wiped water off her face and stepped out of the water and stood before him dripping wet. He smirked at her. “Need someone to scrub your back?” he asked suggestively.

Rose smiled and grabbed him by the tie and yanked him back with her in the middle of the water spray. She let go of his tie and backed up until she was leaning against the wall of the giant shower room, watching him sputter and get drenched.

“Serves you right! You think you can just get away with hauling me off like some cave man?” she taunted.

He whipped his head up, water dripping from his hair that was now disheveled and sexily framing his face. His eyes bored into hers, making her breath catch. Her only thought was that no man could pull of wet and dead sexy like him. “You…you can’t treat me like you did.” Rose said, her voice husky and catching as he slowly moved to her like a predator about to pounce.

She watched as one water droplet teasingly slid down his face, meandering down his neck until disappearing under his collar and she unconsciously licked her lips in envy.

When she refocused on him, all she could do was stare at the hungry look on his face. He stepped closer to her, warm water cascading down both their bodies and gently cupped here face. “I lost you,” he said in a soft, emotional voice.

“But you found me,” Rose responded, equally emotional, her anger replaced by desire for him.

“I’ll always find you,” he promised her as he tucked a few wet strands of her hair behind her ears, oblivious to everything around him and focused only on her.

Neither of them knew who moved first. All they knew was they were writhing against each other and were all clashing teeth and tongues as they tugged and yanked at wet clothing as the jets continued to pound them with warm water. Her top was yanked off, followed quickly by her bra as she ripped at his dress shirt and tie. Both of them were panting by the time he was tugging at her zipper. He pushed her toward a bench built into the shower as he toed off his trainers and pulled off his socks.

Rose felt him tug at her jeans and push her down on the bench. He tossed the weighty fabric aside and stood their bare chested with sodden pants clinging to him revealing the toned curve of his fine arse and the hardened length of him just begging for her attention. She sat back on the bench her feet just barely reaching the tiled floor, staring hungrily at him and hating him a bit for taunting her like this.

He knelt before her, his eyes never leaving hers as he ran his hands up her calves to her thighs pulling them apart. She rested her hands on his shoulders, running them up his neck into his hair, leaned down and pulled him to her into a languid and sexy snog. Eventually he pulled away as he nibbled on her lower lip and leaned over to press kisses across breasts, laving her pert nipples before working his way down to the apex of her thighs.

Rose moaned as she felt her thighs part and his breath hot and moist against the most intimate parts of her. “My Rose,” he growled as he dipped his tongue into her folds and lapped at her as she squirmed and panted as he delved deeper and deeper into her. His hands firmly gripped her thighs as he continued nuzzling and almost humming his desire causing Rose to shiver with pleasure.

The pounding water in the shower created a steamy mist which was symbolic to what Rose was feeling as he continued nipping, sucking and thrumming against her, teasing on a merciless hunt for that one sweet spot that would leave her screaming. He paused his oral ministrations to gently kiss her and nip at her inner thigh, leaning over to flick his tongue over her tattoo and then moaning, “banana.”

Rose giggled and he refocused his efforts as his talented fingers continued dipping into her, swirling and probing her slick heat leaving her crying out “yes” and “more” until he leaned down and pressed his tongue against that slickened nub that left her screaming.

He looked up at her in triumph as she sat back against the damp wall panting with a satisfied smile. He quickly discarded his slacks and pants and stood before her, the ever arrogant and proud Time Lord. Rose drank him in and knew in that moment, she never wanted to be parted from him again. He reached down and yanked her up until she felt him hard and throbbing against her stomach. She slowly sank to her knees before him and he moaned in anticipation as her mouth found his hardened member.

Rose took him into her mouth, her tongue exploring every detail of him. She took her time and slowly increased her suction and rhythm her hands snaking around and squeezing his arse as his hands gripped her hair. She hummed and increased her rhythm tasting all of him and enjoying every swipe of her tongue against him lingering a few times at the sensitive tip before taking him in again. Just as she was about to drive him over the edge he yanked her up by the hair and said “No! I need to see you,” he said hoarsely.

He swiftly pulled her to him and then moved her backwards, into an alcove where a pool was sunken into the floor. He walked her in and pulled her tight against him as the warm water swirled around them and jets inside the pool massaged them with warm water. He hitched up her thigh and poised himself at her entrance, his eyes never leaving hers.

She felt his mind enter hers just as he thrust into her. Rose wrapped bother her legs around him as he pounded into her against the edge of the pool. The swirling warm waters matched the passion she had for him as she dove into his mind as much as he was in hers. He gasped in surprise as he felt her warm presence in his mind with her feelings for him enveloping everything about him as he was nestled deeply inside of her mind. As she felt him slipping in and out of her, grunting and gripping the side of the pool as he slapped her back against the cool tile, she felt closer to him than ever. It was like he was wrapping her up in satin tendrils of time binding them together. The power of who he was and what he could do left her gasping. It was only then that she fully comprehended the power of a Time Lord.

Deeper and deeper he thrust into her both physically and telepathically and Rose never wanted it to end. There was no loneliness or doubt here. It was just them joined and feeling the rush of time buffeting them as they clung together, riding through a storm of emotions, yesterdays, todays and tomorrows to come. She felt it flying by her as he held onto her until finally as her body was about to convulse around him, he yanked her to him and with no words, expressed what she was to him. Tears streaked down her face as she felt such a pure love like she didn’t think possible as heat exploded between them and they both called out to each other in an ancient language rarely spoken.

She clung to him, nuzzling into his neck afterward, quietly weeping and emotional. When finally she composed herself and looked at him, his eyes were filled with the remnants of his own tears.

“That was…” she said softly, unable to complete a sentence.

He smiled at her. “Something that shouldn’t be possible. You’ve seen me now. Aren’t you…afraid?” he asked hesitantly as if he expected her to run screaming from him.

“No,” she said and shook her head. “I told you, I’m staying with you and want you forever even if…we’re both a bit messed up.”

He cocked a eyebrow at this. “Just messed up?” he asked as he gently twirled a piece of her hair. “We’re a bit beyond that.”

“Will that happen again?” Rose asked as she ran her fingers up and down his chest.

“I don’t know. No other being has ever… mingled with a Time Lord like that. Rose, I can’t ever let you go. If I lost you I’d…. Well, it would be bad. You’ve seen what I’m capable of. I‘m dangerous and temperamental.”

Rose looked at him with knowing eyes. “Not all Time Lords can do what you can. You’re… different like I’m different.”

“It’s why I run,” he answered.

“But not alone. Not anymore,” she said and smiled softly at him.

“No, not anymore,” he answered and lifted her hand up and kissed her knuckles as if she were the finest, most noble lady in all the universe.

She wrapped him in her arms and embraced him with everything inside herself. She would stop him when he needed to be stopped, and she would help him do what must be done. Rose saw what lay ahead for them. The time lines weren’t clear, but they all led toward one thing. Gallifrey.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter - it's time for Rose and Dark Ten to talk. Oh my. Also, Gallifrey's in trouble so who they gonna call....

The Tardis was drifting in the Vortex as her occupants shagged their way to a new level of intimacy, growing closer together and yet, they were still miles apart. Rose knew this when she awakened alone in their bed. Their bed. That phrase warmed her heart and left her with a certain feeling of contentment. She rolled over in the black silken sheets and cuddled his pillow, inhaling his scent. She sighed and closed here eyes listening to the Tardis’ song and knew that she couldn’t put off talking to him for much longer.

The Doctor liked to solve any outstanding issues between them with distractions like running or shagging but they couldn’t live their forever that way. Sooner or later, it would weaken and destroy them. Rose reached out to the Tardis for a boost of confidence and rolled out of bed. After a quick shower and dressing in her standard black denim, blue lace top, black leather coat and boots, she made her way to the console room where the Doctor was working on the Tardis.

She entered the room to find him glaring and thumping a monitor. “Doctor?” she asked tentatively. He grunted in response. Rose sighed thinking how he may be alien but still managed typical bloke behavior. “Doctor, I thought we might talk.”

He continued to walk around the console flipping a switch here and sonicing there, tugging at his hair and muttering under his breath. “Talk? About what?” he asked absentmindedly.

“Us, how we’re doin’ and how this is all gonna work,” Rose answered and leaned against the railing, watching him.

“I was thinking we might stop off on Shan Shen for supplies and parts. It’s out of the way and we shouldn’t run into too much trouble,” he announced, completely ignoring her suggestion about talking.

Rose crossed arms, realizing what he was doing. “Doctor, trouble finds us no matter when and where we are.”

The Doctor arched an eyebrow at her. “Well, I am traveling with a trouble magnet now aren’t I,” he teased.

Rose scoffed. “Like you’re not a trouble magnet all on your own.”

He flipped a few more switches. “Since traveling with you, my trouble quotient has increased by sixty three point four two percent,” he replied with a glint in his eyes.

Rose smiled, walked over to a coral strut and ran her hand along it. The Doctor didn’t miss this gesture. “You’ve been doing that a lot lately,” he commented.

Rose turned back to him. “Yeah, she’s a good listener.”

The Doctor paused and leaned against the console, staring at Rose. “And I’m not?” he asked with a slight edge to his voice.

Rose took a deep breath and knew this was her opportunity. “Sometimes, but Doctor, most of the time you have a habit of runnin’ or snoggin’ me instead of talkin’ about our relationship. We can’t just shag away our problems.”

The Doctor winced and grimaced muttering the word “relationship” as if it were the most despicable word in the English language and went back to work adjusting things on the console that probably didn’t need to be adjusted. A few sparks assured Rose that was the case. He looked at her perturbed as he sucked his burnt fingers.

“I don’t know what the problem is. Everything’s fine. It’s not like I heard you complaining about the shagging. Quite the contrary. As I recall you were a bit giddy about spending some special time with a certain chip flavored tattoo that I have courtesy of a drunken night and your whimsical influence.”

Rose couldn’t help the smile that bloomed on her face. “Hmmmm, I do so enjoy a good chip flavored tattoo,” she hummed and made her way over to the console opposite him. “But Doctor, we need to talk too. What happened on Regalos....”

“Is in the past and over and done with,” he interrupted. “Now then, on to Shan Shen where they have markets and this sort of festival dedicated to the harvest of the niggeli fruit which is this purple plum type thing that has a natural effervescence.”

Rose knew this was going to be hard. He was just so stubborn. She laid her hand on the console and asked the Tardis for help. Immediately, a switch flew up into the air off the console landing with a thunk on the grating and the Tardis came to a halt.

The Doctor frowned. “That shouldn’t happen! He glared at Rose. “What did you do!” he demanded and immediately began taking diagnostics.

“Doctor, I’m not gonna let you run away from this. I…I care too much about you, about us. I don’t want to spend the next century havin’ the same rows.”

He sighed and gripped the console before directing a pointed and aggravated look at her. “You seem to forget that I am a Time Lord. I will not be drawn into some domestic Earth analysis and talk about feelings,” he said in a tight voice ending in a sneer.

Rose crossed her arms and bit her lip. “Tough! I’m not gonna let you get away with havin’ a tantrum every time you think I’m comparin’ you to the other Doctor or every time I bring up somethin’ from my past or how about when you want to run from somethin’ wrong instead of staying and workin’ it out all ‘cos you think somethin’ might happen to me!”

The Doctor whipped around the console, fury in his eyes. “Don’t!” he snapped and pointed an accusing finger at her. “You stand there and act like we’re some human couple living some common little domestic life on Earth!” he shouted. “Like it or not we’re different and those rules don’t apply to us. I’m a Time Lord and you’re some human hybrid. We are complex beings with a complex relationship. Not to mention, we’re on the run from some very unhappy Time Lords who’d like nothing more than to torture and dissect us! So, maybe I am a little cynical and don’t want hear about some other sanctimonious Doctor you have a past with. I think I’ve earned the right to be free of him just like you have. Why can’t you just put it behind you? Why am I not enough!” he shouted, angry and more emotional than she had ever seen him.

“But you are enough!” Rose shouted back at him. She calmed herself, walked over to him and reached for his hand, squeezing it. “You mean more to me than…” she started to say as tears welled in her eyes. “More than anything. I want to be with you…as your partner, friend, lover and everything. But, you have to trust me and know that my past makes me who I am here with you. I’m not askin’ you to like that parallel you was in my life. I’m just askin’ you to understand that…all that happened, it brought me to you. You’re all I have and I need you to…” Rose paused as tears cascaded down her face and her voice hitched. “I need to be able to talk to you about it and not have you shut down or push me away gettin’ all angry about it. You might be all Time Lord but I’m still human and I need this.”

The Doctor looked down at their joined hands and took a deep breath. As much as he hated discussing feelings and loathed discussing this other Doctor who, if he admitted it, he was envious of for the time he had with Rose and how devoted she was to him, he hated seeing Rose suffer even more. He instinctually reached his mind out to hers. He could feel a tempest of emotions whirling within her as well as the honesty and genuineness of what she was saying. Time Lord he may be, but he could never convey to her what he felt in words so he showed her instead, pulling her close to him and touching his forehead to hers.

Rose gasped as he embraced her physically and telepathically. This was the first time he had initiated anything like this without an accompanying physical intimacy as well. Suddenly, her mind was flooded with emotions and images. He showed her his rage, horror and guilt in and after the war. She saw his devastation of learning the fate of his family lost in the Void and the bitterness that filled him when his own people turned on him and had banished him to Earth.

There was so much anger, hatred and a deep seeded sorrow in him and yet, she couldn’t help but see where it didn’t consume him. Inside the darkness, she saw herself and him surrounded by a warm glowing light. Sometimes he looked over her shoulder at a faded image of another Doctor and Rose could see him possessively and desperately wrap her in his time lines. She also saw some of his fears of losing her and how he had made her the center of his universe, keeping him stable and lighting his way.

There were nightmare scenarios playing out in dark corners of his mind and they chilled her. All of them involved losing her and what he was capable of in response to that loss. Planets burned and stars were ripped apart in his rage and devastation. That version of the Doctor had vacant, lost eyes. Still, in other areas of his mind, she saw the two of the entwined and coming together screaming each other’s names. There were also quiet moments where he showed her something and had a look of contentment she almost never saw on his face. It didn’t stop there. He showed her their time lines tangled and knotted together stretching out farther than she could see but leaving her with a feeling that together they impacted more than just each other.

Soon, he pulled away from her and she gazed into his eyes which held a hint of fear. “You understand now?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said softly. “I want you and not just ‘cos you’re a Time Lord that looks like other you.” she caressed his face. “As much as I tried not to, I….” Rose started to say but paused. She really did love him but saying out loud was like making it a fact that couldn’t be undone. It would bind her to him and was snipping that final string to her old life. She closed her eyes and again tears pooled. “I’ve fallen in love with you. Even when you’re a completely stubborn and irrational git, I still love you. I don’t want to be anywhere but here with you so you can stop gettin’ stroppy thinkin’ I’m gonna run off with some other you who isn’t even here and never will be. Like it or not, you’re stuck with me.”

The Doctor felt a smile bloom on his face. “My uncommon Rose, I don’t deserve you but I can’t let you go. I’d rip the universe apart if I ever lost you. Don’t know how such a troublesome, emotional human female wormed her way into my hearts and mind but you did. Other me was right about one thing, you do make me better. And, that makes me want to keep you safe and with me and defend you against the entire universe if I have to. You are mine, a part of me. You’ve seen me and know that I’m a possessive, angry, stubborn, vindictive, old curmudgeon of a Time Lord. No human words are sufficient to express what you are to me.” he explained, his fingers gently tipping her chin up so he could look her in the eyes.

“I’ll try to do better but I can’t promise not to put you first or not go to a dark place at the thought of someone trying to take you from me. A Time Lord is a creature of intense emotions. We are taught from an early age to control everything about ourselves, our mind, bodies and emotions. For me, that was never easy and you just seem to tear through all my control,” he revealed to her.

“Sometimes you have to let it out, Doctor,” Rose said softly.

“If I do that, people die,” he told her, a haunted look on his face.

“People are always gonna die. Sometimes they have to, but sometimes they don’t. You can’t save everyone but you can help save some of ‘em. We can help together. If there’s one thing I’ve learned time traveling with other you and crossing the Void, it’s that sometimes you take a stand for what’s right and don’t walk away,” she reminded him pointedly.

He dropped his hands and shoved them into his pockets and paced away before turning and looking at her annoyed. “This is about that prison isn’t” he said crankily, pacing, his movements stiff with aggravation.

Rose crossed her arms ready for part two of making the Doctor talk. “I know you wanted to keep me safe and get out of there, but…”

“But nothing!” he retorted. “I don’t owe those people anything. You are my priority, Rose!”

Rose nodded her head thinking about what she had seen his mind. “And you’re my priority too, but that doesn’t mean we can be blind to what’s goin’ on around us. Sometimes, you have to stay and do the right thing. Lockin’ up little kids like that, in all that filth, suffering god knows what, was wrong. Just by showin’ you care could help make a difference.”

“You don’t know that!” he snapped back at her, angry that she was reminding him of things he may have done before the war, before he had seen the worst that people can do. He had seen how children could be used as weapons or worse. Still, that pleading tone in her voice and the way she was directing her compassionate thoughts at him, was making him remember another time in his life. It hurt to think of those things and how tainted and twisted the war had made him.

“Doctor,” she said softly and walked up to him, placing a hand on his arm. “I know you’re people are actin’ like control freaks, interferin’ and tryin’ to subdue entire civilizations. You’re not like them. You’re better and you’re not alone now. We can help people like those kids.”

“And what if it’s fixed? I won’t be another Omicrex and destroy time!” he bit out.

“Of course you won’t,” she said rubbing his arm. “You’re better than him and I trust you not to do that and I’d never ask you to alter a fixed event. Look, I know that you can see time better than most your people. You showed me that.” She smiled up at him. “Not many blokes have loved me so much that they tired to wrap me up in their time. I Sort of like that really. It’s a bit sexy,” she finally teased him.

His face relaxed and he leaned into her, his hand settling on her hip and his thumb tracing the sonic screwdriver tattoo he knew was there. “I am rather talented and amazing,” he said, a twinkle in his eye as he looked at her.

“Very talented and impressive,” Rose flirted back, smiling flirtatiously at him.

“I suppose I could take a look at what’s going on and see if we couldn’t tweak things a bit. Maybe whisper in a few ears, incite a little righteous rebellion,” he mused. Could be an interesting challenge.”

“Nothing for a brilliant Time Lord like you,” she further cajoled, her fingers tracing up his arm. “Might even be a reward for I dunno, showing me your mad Time Lord skills.”

His eyes darkened with desire. “What kind of reward,” he asked as he leaned in to nuzzle her neck and lay soft kisses on her pulse point.

“Maybe I’ll surprise you,” she said huskily.

He straightened up and stared down at her hotly. “Will you now?”

“Mmmm,” she hummed. “If you promise me to try and listen to me instead of storming off and trust that I’m here for you.”

“And you…what do you promise?” he asked, a serious look in his eyes.

“I promise you my forever, to always be here for you and with you, to protect you as much as you protect me.”

“Do you understand what you’re saying?” he said softly to her, a part of him filled with a warmth and desire at her promise but he had to be sure she understood what those words meant to a Time Lord, to him. This was not a casual promise.

She stared deeply into his eyes, sensing how important this was to him and that they were about to cross a threshold that was both terrifying and exhilarating. Something about this moment was standing out to her as if the universe was holding its breath. She felt like a missing piece was clicking into place and she smiled softly. “I think I do.”

He yanked her to him hard and pushed her into the console as his lips pressed passionately against hers. She moaned as she felt him not just promise her to try and be what she needed but vowed to spend the rest of his regenerations making it happen. She could do nothing but reciprocate the only way she knew how which was to pour all her emotions, happiness at reaching some sort of understanding with him, joy at being with him and love. Just as hands were tugging at clothing, they were rudely interrupted by a knocking on the Tardis doors.

The Doctor pulled back, looking annoyed at the doors.

“Aren’t we in the vortex?” Rose asked, confused and flushed from his passionate snog and telepathic foreplay.

“Yes and I swear if this is one of the Corsair’s pranks I’m gonna toss her into the Vortex!” he said as he stormed over to the doors.

“Doctor!” Rose shouted. “Be careful!”

He nodded tersely and opened the door. There before him, was a floating glowing cube. The Doctor took a few steps back and the cube floated in following him. The door slammed shut and the Doctor stared at it, his hand nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

“What is it?” Rose asked as she tentatively walked over to where he stood before it.

“It’s a hypercube,” he answered thoughtfully.

“And that’s what exactly?” Rose asked, curious about the floating cube which was glowing a soft rainbow of colors.

“Time Lord emergency message,” he explained and plucked it out of the air and walked over to the Tardis console and set it down.

Rose smiled. “Like Time Lord email!” she said with amusement.

The Doctor looked over at her and sniffed. “Hardly. It’s highly advanced way of transmitting telepathic messages through space and time.”

“Time Lord email,” Rose said again quietly and bumped her shoulder with his as she walked over next to him.

The Doctor glared at her, trying not to smile and aimed the sonic at it. “Hmmm, that’s different,” he murmured.

“What?” Rose asked fascinated by this little insight into Time Lord culture.

“It’s encrypted using a temporal quadrohexical bi-dimensional oscillating formula. Very complex stuff even for a Time Lord. Whoever sent this didn’t want just anyone to hear the message. This was directed specifically to me.”

Rose smiled up at him. “’Cos you understand all that quadrohexical stuff?”

He grinned at her. “Oh yes! Used to drive my teachers to distraction at the academy by locking the classrooms with special encryptions”

Rose laughed. “Why am I not surprised. Bet you spent lots of time in Time Lord suspension or study hall.”

The Doctor had a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “Something like that. They didn’t really have a sense of humor back at the academy,” he revealed, lost in thought.

Soon a cultured male voice was echoing throughout the console room. The Doctor paused and stared at the cube murmuring, “Castellan Andred.”

“Doctor?” Rose asked worried at the expression on his face. He shushed her and paced as he listened to the message.

“Doctor, this message has been sent in the utmost confidence and on behalf of a certain party who believes you are capable of assisting Gallifrey with a task of the highest importance. Embedded in this message is information pertaining to activity that endangers the web of time and existence of countless species including our own. You will note the activity causing this temporal instability is perpetrated and sanctioned by the Time Lord High council. We fear that the council has been compromised by individuals with a political agenda and with no hesitation to violate the laws of Rassilon which have guided Gallifrey for millennia in order to benefit themselves and in an effort to gain power of all life in the universe.

“Although this transmission itself is tantamount to treason and those of us on the council are sworn to uphold the laws of Gallifrey including council directives, we see the inherent danger and possible universal collapse from policies now in place requiring the interference and manipulation of certain timelines. As you well know, some of the effected Time Lines are fixed and form a causal nexus which may destroy us all. We are unable to end these actions without assistance from you and Time Lords of a like mind to you.

“It is acknowledged that in the past we have had our differences with you, but now is the time to set aside such pettiness and focus on the greater threat. This cube provides you with all you need to know to help put a stop to the madness consuming the council. We stand ready to take action from within upon your arrival. Gallifrey needs you Doctor. The universe needs you. End transmission.”

“Bloody hell,” Rose whispered. “That sounded like…” Rose said in shock.

“Like they expect me to come running in and save them from their own insanity!” the Doctor finished with an edge to his voice. “After everything they did to me! They want me to fix their blundering! Typical!” he spit out, fury evident in his face and frenetic pacing. “Every time things get messy, they call me…ME! Like I’m some errand boy they can call to clean up the mess they make of things and then sweep me into the gutter so they don’t have to dirty themselves and pretend that they didn’t cause this mess!”

“Doctor,” Rose started to say but he was on a tear and wouldn’t listen.

“Save us from the Daleks Doctor! Go sort Omega! Find the Assassin Doctor! Be President Doctor! Fix our universal bollucks up!” he said, banging a few switches on the console. He whipped around to Rose. “But!” he shouted aiming an accusing finger at Rose. “We despise your methods! We can’t taint ourselves with your actions! We’ll just have to imprison you on Earth where we don’t have to look at you and take away your Tardis! Ohhh, I know how this works! Bloody, annoying, aggravating, stuck up, stodgy, ungrateful council members!” he shouted and picked up the cube and threw it down the corridor where it floated harmlessly.

Rose walked over to him, sympathy in her eyes and placed a calming hand on his arm. She could just feel the tension and fury rolling off him in waves. “Doctor, what’ll happen if we don’t help ‘em?” she asked, in a soft calming voice.

He sighed and looked at her. “Well, if Omicrex keeps going and the council just sits there like lumps on a log then…basically… the universe implodes destroying everything and everyone.”

“Sooo, we’re helping’ them, yeah?” Rose asked.

The Doctor scuffed his trainers on the grating and stared off down the corridor. “I suppose I have no choice,” he admitted, still sounding annoyed. He quickly turned to her. “Not that they’ll appreciate it! You watch, they’ll conveniently forget the fact we saved the universe and come up with some way to punish us,” he said with a dark look on his face.

Rose smiled up at him. “They can say anything they want, we’ll know the truth and sides, we’re clever enough to escape any rubbish Time Lord punishment.”

He sighed hating this but when he looked at Rose and saw her faith in him, in them together, it made him want to do this if only to have an excuse to save the universe with her at his side. He just had this feeling that with Rose next to him, there was nothing he couldn’t’ accomplish. He cocked an eyebrow at her. “You sure about this? Evil and ungrateful Time Lords, time lines in a knot, a universe about to implode and pretty much an impossible task?”

Rose grinned brightly. “You and me, we eat impossible tasks for breakfast. Now come on, let’s get this cube thingy downloaded and start rounding up all your rebel Time Lord friends.”

He yanked Rose to him and stared into her eyes for a moment almost as if he was searching for something. “Together,” he growled at her. She smiled and nodded and he gently rested his forehead against hers conveying a few heated thoughts and lascivious suggestions.

Rose giggled as she pulled a few inches from him. “Feather room? Seriously?” she asked grinning. His response was to wink at her.

“We have time for that? I mean the Time Lords…”

“Time machine and besides I need some inspiration from my uncommon Rose,” he growled as he swept her up in his arms, marching assuredly down the corridor.

*****************  
Meanwhile, not far from Gallifrey….

“Master, are you sure about this?” a Time Lord wearing council robes asked as he looked about him nervously.

“Of course I’m sure! Get us in and distract those annoying putz at the CIA and I’ll take care of Omicrex,” he said, a cold glint in his eyes. “And when the Doctor arrives, and he will, leave him and his wolf to me.”

The Time Lord looked at the Master at the forefront of an army comprised of assassins and twisted and evil creatures who survived the Time War and even more terrifying, the Horde of Travesties. He swallowed hard as he realized the mistake he and his fellow Time Lords had made. In agreeing with the Master’s plan to free Gallifrey from Omicrex, they had delivered Gallifrey into the hands of a mad man. The Time Lord could only hope that the Doctor could stop this or they were all doomed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor and Rose have more stuff to work out on their way to find rogue Time Lords to help them free Gallifrey from Omicrex.

After being roughly jostled awake from an exquisite dream, Rose felt clothing tossed at her as the Doctor practically clapped his hands to get her up and dressed. Soon after her rude awakening, she was being dragged down a corridor to the console room listening the Doctor babble about Time Lord protocols, Tardis to Tardis communication and the brilliance of rogue Time Lords. When they reached the console room, he barked orders at her to hit various buttons and switches requiring her to use her foot in some very acrobatic moves which he grinned at wickedly.

“Oi! Finding Time Lords not starin’ at my gymnastic moves!” Rose reminded him, followed by a flirtatious grin.

He was soon staring at the monitor with a look of intense concentration on his face which metamorphosed into a scowl.

“Doctor, somethin’ wrong?” Rose asked as she maintained her balance and grip while hitting all the switches he instructed.

He whipped out his glasses and began banging on the console. “This can’t be,” he said in a concerned voice with a slight edge to it.

“What’s wrong?” Rose asked.

He looked at her, his face contorted in confusion. “What are you doing?”

As she tottered slightly she looked down and then up at him. “You told me to hold the micro temporal magnifier, push the vortex stability module and keep the spatial dampener dial steady.”

“That was ages ago!” he snapped and then seemed to calm slightly. “You could’ve stopped….”

Rose hopped down from her awkward position and smacked him on the arm before he could finish his sentence. He smiled slightly. She sighed. “Right, now tell me about this problem.”

“I can’t find any other Time Lords in or out of the Vortex. Well, none that aren‘t on Gallifrey,” he explained as he stared at the swirling Gallifreyan text on the monitor.

“Whadda you mean? They’ve been captured or are they hiding?” Rose asked, standing next to him.

“Even if they were hiding, I should be able to get some trace but there’s none,” he said, his hand nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

“Not even the Corsair? Ya think Omicrex has rounded them all up?”

The Doctor looked at her and then began pacing. “I can’t believe he’d be able to do it that fast. I mean some of that lot are dead stupid, careless or so caught up in their own vanity they’d be easy, but others are quite clever. The Corsair’s been a renegade for a millennia and no one can avoid the CIA like her. Well, except me. Still, I can think of at least a half dozen other Time Lords that would be far too crafty and shrewd to be caught.”

“Ya think they’re smart enough to find a place to hide where Omicrex or no other Time Lord would think of to find ‘em?” Rose asked.

“Omicrex is a boring politician and couldn’t find his way out of the Panopticon without an escort,” the Doctor scoffed. “And, those rigid, stuck up sycophants at the Celestial Intervention Agency are too tangled up in their rules and procedures. They still see anything outside of Gallifrey as primitive and beneath them. They expect every Time Lord to act within a set social standard. It‘s like they have blinders on,” Doctor responded arrogantly.

“So, if the Gallifreyan coppers…” Rose started to say.

“CIA, the Celestial Intervenation Agency, Rose.” The Doctor interrupted.

Rose rolled her eyes. “If this CIA couldn’t find ‘em, then they must be hiding,” she reasoned. “So, that means you should be able to find ‘em easy,” she continued and started pacing.

“I will find them. I’m parsecs ahead of those pompous, clueless pharisaic gits on Gallifrey!” he insisted turning back to the console.

Rose bit her lip and tried not to roll her eyes at his egotistical attitude. “Yeah, course you are. But Doctor, maybe you’re goin’ about this wrong. Maybe you need to stop thinkin’ like a Time Lord and start thinkin’ more like an outlaw. It’s like you said, those blokes at the CIA are expectin’ all Time Lords to think alike but renegades don’t. If there anythin’ like you, then they’re gonna be kind of creative, toss logic out the window and let loose a bit. You know…have that zest for life and adventure, seek out fun and go where no Time Lord’s gone before and all that.”

The Doctor stopped and stared at her raising an eyebrow. “Are you telling me that we’re all a bunch of pirates and vagabonds running about the universe as if it were our personal pleasure house?”

Rose giggled. “Well…you do seem to have fun tauntin’ authority and have been known to knick a thing or two while enjoyin’ the local flavor,” she teased.

Although he smiled, his eyes reflected a seriousness and ancient burden. “I won’t deny that having all of time and space at your disposal isn’t fun but that doesn’t mean we forget where we came from or our responsibilities as guardians of time.”

Rose walked over and put her hand over his. “Course not. It’s like you told me, a Time Lord feels things ten times more than anyone else. You can’t just lock that up forever. You renegades know that and sometimes you let loose for yourself and to save the universe. So tell me my clever renegade, if this CIA lot was closin’ in, what would you do?”

The Doctor didn’t even hesitate in his response. “I’d hide someplace they wouldn’t think of going, someplace they wouldn’t want to go near,” he responded, staring off into the distance.

Rose thought for a moment and something was niggling at the back of her mind. Some elusive memory was important but it wasn’t her memory. “Doctor,” she said urgently and reached for his hand, her mind reaching out to his unconsciously. He looked at her startled for a moment then pleased before feeling her questioning. He dove into her mind where she lead him to a memory from his past.”

“The Medusa Cascade,” he whispered. His face hardened and his eyes became black and icy.

“I’m sorry,” Rose said and meant it. The Medusa Cascade was the location of a gruesome battle in the Time War. There was a rift in time and space located there that tended to cause distortions. No time sensitive beings went there as it wreaked havoc with their senses and Tardis navigation was almost impossible. She knew he didn’t want to ever go back there. It may have been over a century since the Time War in his linear time line, but the wounds were still fresh enough that even the thought of that place sent him into a pit of deep despair.

He sighed and stared at the time rotor. “I suppose it’s worth a look,” he said, in an emotionless, cold voice. He made adjustments and set course for it, his motions mechanical, his mind shut off from Rose. He never spoke a word but Rose could see what it was doing to him to have to face that area of space. When the Tardis shuddered to a stop, he stood like a statute, his hands glued to the console.

“Are we there?” Rose asked somberly.

“We’re just outside the effects of the rift. If we go further, navigation will be almost impossible and it would wreak havoc with the Tardis systems.”

“Is there anyway to tell if there are Time Lords hiding out nearby?”

The Doctor didn’t respond, only closed his eyes grimacing as if in pain. Finally, he released a breath Rose didn’t know he was holding and looked at her. She’d never seen him so broken, not even on Earth. She immediately went over and wrapped her arms around him and tried to comfort him. He stood there stiff. “There’s nothing,” he said coldly.

Rose stayed wrapped around him and reached out to the Tardis who seemed very subdued. She tried to visualize a game of hide and seek, hoping the Tardis would understand and that’s when it hit her. A game of hide and seek for Time Lords would not be three dimensional. Time, they could hide in time. An echo from another universe and a time line not taken lingered in her mind and she shared it with the Tardis. The Tardis sang to her.

Rose took a step back and looked at her Doctor so lost in pain and darkness. “Doctor, what if they hid in time here?” He looked at her but didn’t seem interested.

“I mean what if they hid in a pocket of time here? You said this place wasn’t stable,” she said, trying to shake him out of his misery.

He looked down at her and something sparked in his eyes. “How did you think of that?”

She smiled. “Well, as you’ve said, I’m not exactly all human and I sort of see time lines sometimes. I was thinking about hide and seek for Time Lords and then something just hit me. There was a time line that was a possibility for me but other me took it, other Rose in the Medusa Cascade. Remember her traveling through the Void and meeting the other Doctor? It’s sort of like an echo to me and I showed the Tardis. She sort of figured it out.”

He stared hard at her. “Show me!” he demanded, looking irritated at her.

“Oi! Don’t get stroppy with me! I’m just trying to help.”

He started to pace in a way that she knew meant he was frustrated with her. “Why did you go talk to my Tardis instead of me?” he asked in an annoyed tone.

“Oh my gawd! You’re angry ‘cos I went to the Tardis for help!” Rose exclaimed, shocked and perturbed at him.

“He stopped his pacing and strode up to her, the imposing and arrogant Time Lord. “I am not jealous!” he said in a clipped tone, enunciating his words. “You should be sharing with me first not my Tardis!”

“What do you mean sharing with you first? I did! I showed you ‘bout the Medusa Cascade! And then we got here and you couldn’t find anything and you were all hurting and wrapped up in bad memories. I had to do something.”

“You could have shared your thoughts with me, joined with me again. Don’t you know how important that is? What you are to me!’ he demanded

Rose crossed her arms and cocked a hip out. “No Doctor, why don’t you tell me? Best as I can tell lately I’m a good shag ‘cos that’s how it always ends up. Not that it’s bad but…I…I don’t know. When you get that way, I don’t know what to do and the Tardis was there…”

He reached for her and yanked her to him and roughly pressed his lips to hers, pushing his mind against hers until she let him in. Rose melted into him but wasn’t ready to submit to him. She felt his aggravation and suddenly felt herself swept up in something powerful. It frightened her and she called out to the Tardis which only served to cause him more aggravation. He pulled back and narrowed his eyes at her.

“No. I will not allow this. I will not allow anything or one to come between you and I. Not even my own Tardis. You are mine as I am yours. I’ve done everything to make this clear to you and still you reject me! We did the domestic talk just like you wanted. I made promises to you as you did to me. I showed you who I am…all of me. Our timelines are wrapped…together. How can you push me away? How much more do I have to do to show you what we are!” he raged passionately, pacing back and forth.

“What can you do?” Rose shouted at him in a way she had never shouted at him before. “You yank me over and next thing I know, I’ve got oncoming storm rainin’ down on me! What did you expect me to do?”

“I expect you to embrace me! It’s not like we’ve never come together before, literally! How can you stand there and reject what we are?” he shouted back.

“What we are? What are we anyway? You want me to accept this thing whatever it is then, you can start by explaining what all that means? You think I just know this stuff? Maybe the big all knowing Time Lord should start explaining it to me instead being all…Time Lordy about it! Why do you think I have to go to the Tardis? It’s not like you talk to me about the important stuff. It’s all shouty, raging and arrogant Time Lord and then we shag until the next thing happens.

He shot her a hot angry glare and paced a few steps away before whipping around facing her again. “How can you be in my mind and not know?” he demanded.

“I don’t know. You tell me!” Rose shouted back.

Before he could rip into her some more, the Tardis began showing him Rose’s confusion and pictures of Earth to remind him that she was still part human and not as well versed in telepathy. He took a few deep breaths and cursed. “You should know because I let you in. You should know because I’m closer to you than anyone and Time Lords don’t do this or engage in what you and I do,” he said in an emotional gruff voice. “What we have is stronger than just friends or lovers.” He walked up and cupped her face. “There is no English word for this intimate relationship. In fact, we shouldn’t need words between us.”

Rose stared at his desperate eyes. He was aggravated but not angry at her. It was more about the miscommunication or lack of communication between them. He had said they shared something stronger than lovers and that could only mean….Oh. “Doctor, are you sayin’ you and me…that we’re…sort of…um married?

His face contorted in disgust. “Marriage!’ he spit out. “That’s a primitive concept. Time Lords don’t marry!”

“Yeah, then what? Whadda you do when you meet the Time Lady of your dreams then?” He stared at her like he wanted to say something but was holding back or just didn’t know what to say. “Go on then!” Rose prodded him.

“My people don’t do what we have,” he explained in a tight voice. “Marriage as you know it does not exist. People are joined in contract for lack of a better phrase. Alliances are negotiated between families for the greater good, to make a good genetic match for the looms, to form political alliances and keep our race strong. Attraction, personality, emotions and feelings have nothing to do with it,” he explained, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking around the console room like he didn’t want to be having this discussion.

“But you and me, we’re not like that,” she said, tentatively.

He looked at her intently. “No, we’re better.” He walked over and grasped her shoulders. “What we have is something that my people rejected millennia ago.” He ran a hand through her hair and tucked a loose strand behind her ear, gently caressing her face. “Our minds fit together in an unfathomable way. You fill the dark places inside of me and…having you with me, so intimately tucked away in my mind makes me feel things. I feel less alone, accepted and…loved. No one’s every loved me like this, like you do. We share…” he paused in thought. “A communion of sorts. I suppose that would be what it might be in your language. We are together.”

Rose stared at him and something inside her accepted what he’d said as if she knew it to be a fact even if she didn’t’ understand it. Memories of being intimate with him made her flush. It wasn’t just shagging with him and she knew that despite the words she’d just hurled at him. It was something more but it was also alien to her.

His eyes lit up as he began to see it making sense to her. “You are with me up here,” he said tapping his temple. “And, a piece of me is with you. It means that we are connected. The problem is you don’t always accept that and you need to. I need you to. Every time we touch, the connection between us strengthens and becomes more intense.”

“So a bit of you is in my head?” Rose asked quietly.

He sighed and pulled at his hair as he thought about her question. “Yesss, welll I suppose you could say that. It’s more that a piece of my mind is attached to yours. It strengthens our telepathy with one another. The longer we’re with one another, the stronger it is. It could be stronger, more permanent, if you want.”

Rose focused on his words and she felt something. It was him and he was pleased. She looked up at him to see longing and intensity in his face. “But…just now when I thought about the Medusa Cascade, you did all the telepathy stuff. You came into my head.”

“You’re not quite strong enough to pop into mine on your own. Well, at least not without my permission, but you still have a way of grabbing my attention. Of course, that could change. We could form a full…communion or I suppose you could call it a joining or bond. It would be permanent and strengthen the connection we have. You could pop an idea to me as easy as blinking. It would be… forever,” he ended softly.

Rose gazed him and full comprehension dawned on her. From her cultural reference, he was indeed proposing a marriage of sorts. She’d been engaged to him without even knowing it. Although, she knew this went far beyond any human concept of such things. He was alien and so was she now. It changed everything and she needed to accept it as part of her life.

“So this communion um bond thingy, it makes our emotions and feelings more intense, yeah?” she asked.

“Yes. I think you’ve already felt some of that,” he responded staring at her intently.

Rose blushed and memories of them in the med bay, shower, his bed and other various rooms on the Tardis came to mind. “Yeah. So, is that the reason that we…sort of…um shag like bunnies?”

He grinned smugly at her. “Partly and partly it’s because you’re you.” He prowled close to her, resting a hand on her hip and leaning into her. “You taste divine,” he purred in her ear. “You’re all temporal, complex and your time sings a siren song to me, calling me to you. You are my Uncommon Rose and you make me feel things centuries of Time Lord repression and control had subdued. What we have up here,” he said and caressed her temples causing her to moan slightly. “It’s more than just physical attraction and pheromones. It’s who we are together that is always pulling at us.”

Rose looked at him and breathed in the delicious scent of his time and essence. “Basically, it makes us want to shag nonstop and each time we do it just makes us want more,” she said huskily.

“Mmmm,” he hummed as she wrapped herself around him and they sank into each other, their minds telepathically mimicking their bodies. Rose reveled in the emotions. This was how he communicated best, by whispers in her mind and emotions enveloping her. “Yes,” she whispered to him. He groaned and began grinding his body against her in response.

Before they could take anything further, the Tardis began to shake. The Doctor swore profusely and went to the console. Rose sighed and wondered if it was some universal joke to interrupt them just when they were making progress. She held onto the console as they were tossed around.

“We’re caught in some kind of temporal anomaly,” the Doctor shouted at her. “Hang on!”

After several more moments of being tossed around, losing her grip and skidding across the grating to the pilot’s seat, the Tardis came to a stop with a thump. Rose winced, groaned and sat up. The Doctor ran over and helped her up running his sonic up and down and around her. “Nothing’s broken,” he said as someone or thing started pounding on the Tardis door.

Both the Doctor and Rose stared at it simultaneously. “That another one of them message cubes?” Rose asked.

“No, someone’s out there,” he said, staring at the door and not looking entirely happy.

“Who is it?” Rose asked. “Is it one of your Time Lord friends?

“Not exactly a friend, but a possible ally.”

He briskly opened the door and standing outside was a middle aged ginger haired woman with a cigarette in her hand. She was dressed in brown suit with a long houndstooth coat.

“Well, well look what the vortex dragged in. It’s the Oncoming Storm and his dangerous little pet,” she said in her gruff throaty voice and took a drag on her cigarette and blew smoke rings at the Doctor.

“Hello Berenyi. Plan any assassinations lately or is business a little slow what with Omicrex attempt to control the timelines of Earth and every other sentient race,” the Doctor retorted, while leaning against the Tardis.

Rose walked up behind him and looked at the woman whose cold green eyes revealed nothing but an ancient calculating intelligence. She laced her hand with the Doctors and he squeezed it in reassurance. “Rose, this Berenyi, a cold, ruthless self serving assassin. Berenyi, this is my Rose, hands off.”

Rose felt the telepathic warning from the Doctor and just nodded her head at the Time Lady who muttered something rude under breath and sashayed away still holding her cigarette. Rose noticed they were in a cave of dark gray rock dotted with sparkles of minerals and that was lit by glowing crystal embedded in the rock.

Berenyi stopped and turned. “Well, are you coming or not? You’ve already drawn enough attention here. Omicrex probably has his tin soldiers on the way as we stand here wasting time,” she said sarcastically before turning and marching forward.

Rose looked at him as he stared down the passageway Berenyi had just disappeared down. “Doctor, we need their help. We can’t just do this alone.”

He looked at her. “I’m not alone. I have you.”

Rose smiled at him. Yeah, and as soon as we settle this whole Omicrex thing we can get back to travelin and other things,” she said flirtatiously. “But, first we have to go do a meet and greet with the other Time Lords.”

The Doctor moaned and groaned a bit before Rose was able to tug him down the cave-like corridor. “They can’t all be as bad as skanky Berenyi or nutter Rani,” she said, trying to draw him out and get more information.

“No, I suppose not. Some are all right but some are a pain in my arse and I don’t want them near you. I want you stuck to me like an Azarin blood snail.”

Rose wrinkled her nose at that comment as they made their way into a large domed cavern lit with massive amounts of crystals. Before her, was a motley crew of rebellious Time Lords dressed in all different manner or clothing looking at them with smiles, looks of disdain or outright anger.

She focused on the Doctor and felt him comfort her but she also felt him tense up as if he was about to face a firing squad. She figured this was about right. It had been about thirty hours since they’d escaped from the prison on Maluga Four so they were about due for more trouble.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This Chapt: Time Lords snipping and shouting...Bad Wolf sets them straight and SMUTZ!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Callistawolf for taking a peek when I was worried it was boring.

Rose stood by the Doctor squeezing his hand as they faced the cavern filled with rogue Time Lords. Berenyi stood off to the side puffing away on her cigarette looking bored. Finally, the Doctor cleared his throat.

“So, interesting place you have here. Perfect for hiding out while Omicrex takes over and destroys the web of time,” the Doctor said with a slight edge and accusation.

“Don’t you lecture us you sanctimonious twat! This is all your fault! You and your time tart!” shouted a short, heavy set Time Lord dressed in an elaborate costume reminiscent of King Henry the Eighth including jeweled rings on his fingers, a diamond and ruby encrusted broach and a diamond stud earring in his ear. He had sandy blonde hair, blue eyes and looked to be about the same age as the Doctor. Of course, looks can be deceiving when discussing Time Lords.

“Time tart!” Rose shouted. “Who are you calling a tart!” she asked as she stared daggers at the lavishly over the top dressed Time Lord.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. “Don’t make this about me Cleppy. You know as well as I do what things are like on Gallifrey. They’re all corrupt and out for their own power. If you want to go blaming someone for interrupting your lifestyle, go blame Omicrex.”

“Don’t call me Cleppy! It’s Clepsydra to you! And as I recall, the last person who interrupted my lifestyle was you! You who came to Firdosia being all judgmental and lecturing about how all Time Lords need to do their part as you dragged me back to Gallifrey and conscription into some damned army to destroy Daleks, traitors and anyone or thing in between!”

“Enough!” Berenyi shouted. “Clepsydra is right! We don’t have much time thanks to someone who drew attention to this area of space by parking his Tardis in the vortex over us!” she said and sneered at the Doctor.

The Doctor whipped around and his eyes narrowed at her. “Don’t go blaming me. If you had responded to my signal, I wouldn’t have been as you so bombastically put it, parked on your front door!” the Doctor snipped.

Rose put her fingers in her mouth and blew a shrill whistle. All the startled Time Lords focused their attention on her and not in a good way. “Right, we all have our differences. Some, more than others,” she said gazing at Clepsydra. “The point is that Omicrex is hunting you lot down and trying to control all of time and space; and, in the process is about rip apart everything and destroy all life including yours. So, if you don’t mind, maybe we can focus on how to stop ‘im, yeah?”

“Here, here,” a modestly dressed, gray haired, bearded Time Lord who sat in a corner said and stepped forward. He was dressed in brown monk like robes and had a kind smile on his pale face.

“Rummas!” the Doctor exclaimed with a smile. “I haven’t seen you in centuries! Good to see you old man! You’re looking well.”

“And you Doctor,” Rummas replied. “Why don’t you introduce us to your very interesting companion?” He asked in a smooth, soft voice.

The Doctor looked over at Rose and grasped her hand in his. Rose looked into his eyes and felt their connection flare. He was again wrapping her up in his essence and time like only he could and she felt…safe and strong and loved. The Doctor then turned to the rest of the Time Lords. “This is Rose and she isn’t’ just my companion. She’s my confident, my partner and my other half. As you can see, and as the Rani found out the hard way, she’s not someone you want to cross. Lucky for all of us, she fancies me and wants to help us set things right on Gallifrey. No one touches her without my permission. She’s mine. Understood?” he said, ending with a dark threatening glare at all of them.

A sandy haired man with graying temples dressed in a tan suit and brown and gold tie stepped forward. He walked with an ornate cane with a silver handle carved with Gallifreyan symbols on it. His brown eyes narrowed speculatively on Rose. “Quite the interesting creature you have, Doctor. Do elaborate how she could possibly assist us with our delicate situation?” he asked.

Rose could feel something pressing on her. It wasn’t entirely physical but felt like she had been plunged into the depths of an ocean and the icy water was pressing on her. She felt the Doctor immediately become enraged and reach for her. She visualized holding his hand and felt warmth fill her and without conscious thought radiated a burst of power that manifested in the physical world knocking every Time Lord in the room down. Everyone, that is, except the Doctor who looked at her in surprise and pride.

Rose stumbled backward and looked over at him. “What happened?”

“Oh, nothing much. You just called out a rude and arrogant, Time Lord and taught him a lesson. Are you all right,” he asked, squeezing her hand.

“Yeah but what….” She responded and looked around the room at annoyed and startled Time Lords righting themselves.

The Doctor almost crushed her hand in rage as he unleashed the Oncoming Storm and the deadly predator he could be on the old Time Lord who dared threaten his Rose. “Mortimus should know better. He knows very well that I don’t make idle warnings,” he explained in that tight angry voice that resonated with power and fury. He stared at the Time Lord who was now standing, his face filled with outrage and perhaps a bit of fear.

“No one touches her. I told you. She. Is. Mine!” he said and although not shouting, it was as if the Doctor’s voice echoed about the room.

He took a breath and Rose felt some of his inner rage dissipate but he was in no way calm. There was still a palpable tension in him. “Now then, if Mortimus is done playing games, let’s get down to business. Shall we?” the Doctor asked in a cold voice.

Rose stood quietly by him as the Time Lords began planning strategies. A Time Lord by the name of Drax was an old friend of the Doctor’s. He was a balding, pleasant looking Time Lord dressed in what Rose would describe as a futuristic beige jumpsuit. He was sure he could disarm Omicrex’ temporal device and use it to reverse the damage, but he would need help.

The Doctor had sent her a telepathic message that Drax was an extraordinarily talented in chemical and mechanical engineering although he was rubbish at temporal physics and had flunked out of the academy. Later in his life, Drax had run amok of some Eternal referred to as the Black Guardian who was using him to build weapons and devices of mass destruction. The Doctor had freed him. During the war, the Doctor had done his best to keep Drax off of the front lines and more as a scientific advisor and Drax had proclaimed he was forever in the Doctor’s debt for this.

Mortimus who Rose now knew had many names, one of which was the Meddling Monk, also had a history with the Doctor. The Doctor and he had once been friends but had a falling out over an event on Earth. Mortimus had found humans too corrupt to live and was prepared to not only leave them to their own destruction but even push them along a bit. The Doctor stopped him and in doing so, injured Mortimus enough to regenerate. Since then, they had clashed a few more times over Mortimus’ interference in several species historical events. Mortimus believed the Time Lords should have blown themselves and the universe up and rebooted all of creation. This had horrified the Time Lord council and he had been removed from his position in the war and relegated to a consultant who was under constant scrutiny. He eventually escaped. He was not to be trusted but they still needed him. He was key to sneaking onto Gallifrey undetected.

Rummas was a mild mannered historian. He simply had no desire to be involved in anything. During the war. The Doctor had sent him to various planets to observe and document. No one ever paid him much attention as he tended to blend in and fade into the background. He was the perfect observer which also meant he was a wealthy repository of information about what should be and what had been altered. He was so unassuming; that he was probably not even on Omicrex hit list and thus his appearance on Gallifrey would hardly raise any concerns. It would be easy for him to slip in and rally the support of discontented Time Lords they knew were there just waiting for an opportunity to take a stand.

There was no better description of Berenyi other than a viper. She was another rogue Time Lord who thought little of humans. Like Clepsydra, she enjoyed the finer things in life and it didn’t bother her at all to commit atrocious acts to achieve her goal. Where Clepsydra just swept in and manipulated people into worshiping him, Berenyi destroyed or killed for her bounty. Rose learned that one of her more notable jobs was the assassination of John F. Kennedy in twentieth century Earth. A certain gambling alien race was known to be visiting Earth in this time and placing bets on the politics of the era. Berenyi took advantage of this and was hired secretly by one of the aliens to shift the odds in his favor.

The Doctor had tried to stop it, but was too late and the time line with Kennedy’s assassination snapped into place as a fixed event. Berenyi escaped leaving the Doctor a mess to clean up. It wasn’t easy for him to develop and implement a bit of conspiracy and paranoia into Earth history and build up the mythology surrounding this event. In retribution for her dangerous and decadent lifestyle, the Doctor had made sure Berenyi’s rather unique skills were well used in the Time War. Clepsydra, on the other hand, was little use other than an ambassador to persuade other races to support, cooperate and even exalt the Time Lords during the war. Both would be useful in their endeavor to free Gallifrey even if they didn’t want to do anything but run. There were many others also milling about but these old and devious Time Lords were the core to their plan.

Of course, this group being rogues and with egos to match their ages, things were bound to get a little tense. In the midst of a rather heated argument between Mortimus and Berenyi regarding taking down Omicrex and the CIA and who should regenerate who as well as the method for implementing such regeneration, the Corsair burst into the cavern.

“Thank God!” Rose exclaimed, thoroughly tired of listening the interminable Time Lord bickering, arguing, debating theories, dissecting strategy as well as one particularly nasty diatribe about who was the best Tardis pilot. Rose had been ready to smash her head against the stone wall while the Doctor paced back and forth snipping at his fellow Time Lords, shouting and being a general arrogant prat. Rose had already come to the conclusion that putting this many egotistical Time Lords in one small cavern was a monumentally horrid idea, so seeing the Corsair burst in, even dragging the Rani behind her, was a welcome break.

“Corsair, it’s so good to see you! What’s with the Rani?” Rose asked as she looked from the Corsair who had a look of disgust on her face as she scanned the room to the Rani who looked similarly appalled and a bit frightened.

“Rose, good to see you in one piece. Glad you and the Doctor are sorted but I knew you would be. Sorry to burst in on what I’m sure is more fun than a platoon of drunken Judoon, but I have news from Gallifrey.” The Corsair then tugged on a rope which was binding the Rani until the Rani fell to the dusty stone floor. “Go on! Tell them!” the Corsair ordered the Rani.

The Rani looked ready to spit nails or at the very least regenerate the lot of them. After one final tug and a prodigious glare at the Corsair she straightened and dusted herself off. “Omicrex isn’t the problem anymore. It appears some Time Lords lost all common sense and cut a deal with the Master,” she said, spitting out the name “Master.”

Rose shivered involuntarily. Her one encounter with the Master had been enough. She instinctively had felt an insane madness and lust for power. Whatever he was doing, it was not to help Gallifrey. The Doctor stopped his pacing and his irritated mood was metamorphosing into something worse. If the Master was involved, people were going to die and that was a certainty. He glanced nervously at Rose and knew without a doubt they wouldn’t be going anywhere until they had affirmed their connection and achieved a true union.

Berenyi cursed profusely while several of the others paled and pinched the bridge of their nose. Mortimus smiled coldly as if he found this turn of events amusing. The Doctor walked up to the Rani, his eyes dark fathomless pits of a cold and calculated anger. Rose felt what was almost like a switch being flipped. He was so still and filled with such an icy fury. This wasn’t her Doctor. This was the dark lord, the chancellor of Earth she had first encountered. He was powerful, cunning and ruthless. The only thing between him and stepping over the precipice into destruction and death was her.

“What has the Master done exactly,” the Doctor asked in soft deadly voice, his eyes drilling into the Rani.

The Rani hesitated before responding. “He’s hired an army of cut throats and assassins to help him depose the council.”

Berenyi snorted at this. “As if some primitives could help him take Gallifrey!”

The Rani ignored her and swallowed hard. “He….he unleashed the Hordes of Travesties,” she said with hesitation. The room became silent and still.

Rose watched the Doctor take a step closer to the Rani who shifted uncomfortably. “He wouldn’t,” the Doctor said with a hard inflection in his tone.

“He did,” the Rani responded, trying to stare him down but failing. “Someone took down the Quantum Force Field and the Transduction Barrier. They transmatted and dematerialized directly into the citadel. The battle was over before it began.”

“And how do you know this?” the Doctor demanded, in an almost too calm voice almost vibrating with power and never taking his eyes off the Rani.

She shifted under his gaze. “Tell him!” the Corsair spit out.

“I was there. The Master may have made certain promises if I helped. Promises which the lying, deceiving bastard never intended to keep! He tried to kill me and steal my Tardis! Hmph, no one betrays me! I always have a back up plan and when he sent his pathetic assassins after me, I initiated the citadel’s self destruct sequence. It took him almost to the last parsec before detonation to stop it,” she announced with a pleased look on her face.

The room was silent except for the Doctor who shot across to the Rani faster than Rose could see and grabbed her by the throat. “You sided with an unconscionable, insane murderer just for a chance to advance your own position,” he said loudly and enunciating the words as if they were something foul. “You helped unleash that horror left over from the Time War against our own people! Our world and our people, all that’s left after everything we went through is now suffering at the hands of a mad man who thinks he can control creations of pure darkness and hatred that so horrified our own scientists that the council had them time locked so they could never escape. You just lost the right to breathe the same air as even the most primitive creatures in the universe,” he said viciously.

None of the other Time Lords were making any motions to stop him. Even the Corsair stood there passively, staring judgmentally at the Rani. Rose couldn’t let him do it. She wouldn’t allow him to add another death to his conscious. She walked over and gently put her hand on his shoulder and very softly said his name while sending him a gentle but firm telepathic message. The Doctor stilled and dropped the Rani turning on Rose with a face filled with fury.

“You don’t understand what she’s done!” he shouted at Rose.

“Yeah, actually I do,” Rose answered calmly and looked down at the Rani, her face red and tear streaked as she coughed and gasped for breath. Rose felt something inside of her, an ancient golden presence, fill her with calm and she looked into the Rani and remembered. She remembered what had happened on the Rani’s Tardis and what the Rani would do. She saw the Rani’s time and knew the Rani had made a decision and now would bear the consequences. “She’s done what she’s always done and it’s gonna cost her. She is tiny and convinced the universe resolves around her and she can bend it and time to her will.” Rose pronounced in an ethereal voice not quite her own.

She looked up at the other Time Lords. “The universe and time will soon show the Rani and all of you that you are not so superior as you think. Lords and Ladies of Time you may be, but your mistress will not be so forgiving of your transgressions. Never forget you serve at her pleasure not yours.” Rose directed a look at Mortimus who was smiling as if the thought of the impending destruction pleased him. She slowly walked toward him circling the room, her eyes never leaving him almost like she was hunting prey. “You, Time Lord. You think the utter destruction of everything is the answer but you’re wrong. Chaos is not he answer, it’s part of the disease and infection that your kind has wrought upon the universe and time itself. You who swore an allegiance to Lady Time, have betrayed her. You all know better. But you, Time Meddler…you know more than most. You have lived the longest, seen the most and still you assault all you are sworn to protect.”

He chuckled. “And you…creature…whatever you are. Why should a Lord of Time listen to you?” he asked as he kept her in his sight. Mortimus had already seen a small bit of what she was capable of but he didn’t like being lectured by who he still viewed as an inferior human.

Rose grinned at him and a bit more of Rose herself began answering rather than whatever was using her as a conduit. “Why me? Well, 'cos I looked into time and she looked into me. We reached….an agreement you might call it. She calls on me as an emissary in exchange for helpin’ me a bit. She calls and I answer.” Her smile fell. “I’ve seen…things you couldn’t imagine. I know you.” With that Mortimas cane glowed with golden energy. He screamed and dropped it but it was too late as it made its way up his arm and he fell to his knees. Rose’s face became blank as whatever was within her shifted to the forefront. She paused looking down at him and then the energy assaulting him stopped, leaving him gasping and visually aged. There was a gasp in the room but otherwise the Time Lords remained silent, watching with fascination. Rose continued her circuit around the room watching Mortimus and he looked back at her no longer smiling now having an inkling of the powerful entity he had just taunted. When she returned to the Doctor, he was watching her with concern, his previous anger now diminished with worry for his Rose. The Rani flinched as Rose neared.

“Keep her away from me!” the Rani called out as she struggled against the Corsair’s ropes still binding her.

“Whoa there flower,” the Corsair said in a calm voice. “Let’s not get out hand now. We need this lot if we’re gonna stop the Master from whatever he’s got up his sleeve. We all hafta work together.”

Rose grasped the Doctor’s hand and looked deep into his eyes. Both of them had felt darkness clawing at them. As they stood together reaching for the ties that bound them, the Bad Wolf, creature of time ebbed from Rose. They banished the dark specter seemed to hover over them and that would have wrenched them apart and plummeted them into a pit of despair and of universal destruction. The Doctor yanked her into his arms and hugged her. “Not you,” he whispered. “Never you. I won’t allow you to fall my Rose.

She hugged him back, gripping him tightly “Not gonna lose you either…to anything.”

He released her reluctantly and looked at the Corsair. “Right, so we alter the plan slightly but the goal is still the same. First things first….”

 

Once the plan had been decided, each Time Lord went on their way to play their part. The Corsair was the last to leave. She looked at Rose and the Doctor gravely.

“Never a dull moment with you two,” she said with a smile as she adjusted her black pirate hat.

The Doctor showed the slightest smile. “Oh you know us, trouble’s our middle name,” he said in an attempt at banter.

“What happened to the Rani?” Rose asked, as she continued to hold the Doctor’s hand.

“I chucked her back in my Tardis all safe and secure. Don’t worry ‘bout her! I’ll make sure she does her part,” the Corsair answered. “And you flower, what about you? You just about scared the pants right off of Mortimus. Not that I didn’t enjoy it!” she confessed grinning. “It was good to see that old curmudgeon get takin’ down a notch or two! Still…this thing in you and about you Rose, in all my long days, ain’t never seen anything like it. Wouldn’t like to see two of my best drinkin’ mates hurt. Specially not over a bunch moldy old hypocritical politicians.”

Rose smiled and looked up at the Doctor who still was on edge since Bad Wolf had come out to play. “I’ll be all right. I’ve got the Doctor and he’ll keep me safe,” she answered with a soft smile.

The Corsair stared at both of them. Rose looked back at her. “You see somethin’ you wanna share Corsair?” Rose asked, knowing the Corsair could see their timelines better than they could. Time Lords weren’t permitted to see their own time lines or future and Rose had found she also was bound to this rule. Not that she wanted to know everything, but a little peek to know things would work out would be nice.

The Doctor sighed. “Rose, don’t,” he almost moaned.

The Corsair laughed loudly. “Awww Rose, nothin’ I can’t tell that you don’t already know! Besides, where the fun in knowin’ what’ll happen.”

“Exactly!” the Doctor agreed, ready to see the Corsair off. He and Rose had things to do before they paid a visit to Gallifrey and faced the Master. They needed to be in complete harmony before then and there was something they had yet to do to achieve it. The Doctor looked the Corsair in the eyes, knowing this might be the last time they see each other as they were now or ever truth be told. “Corsair,” the Doctor said with respect.

“Doctor,” she responded. “Take care of our flower and watch your arse.”

They silently nodded at each other and turned to leave. Rose walked silently beside the Doctor before looking up at him as they reached the Tardis. “What was that all about?”

“What?” he asked as he ushered her inside and sent them into the vortex.

Rose walked up to the console next to him. “That bit where you did your telepathy thing and nodded. It was like you didn’t expect to see each other again.”

The Doctor didn’t say anything until he finished setting controls. He looked at Rose with a piercing gaze and held out this hand. “You and I have unfinished business,” he said softly, not answering her question. Rose looked at his hand and his eyes and knew the answer. No one knew what would happen on Gallifrey which was frightening to Rose. These were Time Lords after all. If they didn’t know….

Rose felt the Doctor focusing on her and knew he was waiting. Before they landed to meet the other Time Lords, he had asked her an important question, one the most important questions of her life. Forever was no longer a wish by a young girl in love. This was real, tangible and their future together and she wanted that. To be joined with him wouldn’t be easy, but it would be so worth it. There were no doubts for her about this. She took his hand and he quietly led her back into the Tardis. Not a word passed between them but that didn’t mean they weren’t connected. She felt his nervous anticipation and desire.

He escorted her to a softly lit room with a domed ceiling made of orange, gold and cream stained glass that gave the room a warm feeling. The floor was tiled in an intricate circular design and in the center were some rich blue pillows and a silver goblet with two carafes of wine on either side. Rose turned to him to ask about it but he placed a finger across her lips. He used telepathy to explain this room was enhanced to resonate telepathic communication between them. It was important for them to focus on one another and strengthen the connection between them. He placed his fingers on her temples and showed her the ceremony. Rose smiled at the elegance of it. She looked at him and nodded.

Each of them started on opposite sides of the room and walked the circular patterns, slowly with great concentration. Each step she took, Rose began to make sense of the pattern for it was more than just interlocking circles. Each step was about them, their connection and the intertwining of their lives. Rose felt the Doctor’s presence growing stronger in her mind as she made her way along and through the interlocking lines. She was so focused on following the pattern, she was almost startled when she reached the center and looked up at him standing there watching her after having completing his own path. He stood tall and intense in his gray pinstripe suit and dark gray overcoat. There was a look of reverence with an underlying desire in his eyes.

The Doctor had watched Rose as she focused on the pattern and slowly followed it around the room. He could feel her mind processing the intricate Gallifreyan patterns in the floor and what they signified. The ties that bound them were solidifying and it was having an effect on him that he didn’t expect. Perhaps it was the way time had enveloped her and existed within her or maybe it was just that indefinable essence he knew as Rose. She was, after all, the fearless woman who crossed the void in search of answers and sought out the one she loved, not content to sit and wait for someone to rescue her. Her courage and fortitude was rare and intoxicating to him. She was a defender of the universe, the Bad Wolf, his Uncommon Rose; and soon, she would be unequivocally his forever. This fact stirred that dark possessive nature that existed within him and he felt a burning to desire to affirm and consummate his vows to her. Although he had never before felt such a compulsion to initiate something so intimate, primitive and permanent, he embraced it now and looked forward to deepening his connection with her.

They stared at each other for a moment before kneeling on the pillows on each side of the silver chalice. She could hear his voice in her mind growling her name in that sexy voice that made her shiver. His desire and impatience to have this complete were very apparent. He reached for a carafe of Gallifreyan wine on one side and she reached for another carafe on the other side. Each poured into the chalice, mixing to the two wines. He lifted the goblet to her lips for her to sip and she did the same for him, setting it down between them. He grasped her hand and lifted between them and draped a golden iridescent chain around their clasped hands. He then reached his other hand to her temple and she mirrored this action.

Rose gasped. It was similar to experiences they had shared during their most intimate moments. So many emotions flowed through her and tears coursed down her face. She felt light surrounding both of them and hundreds or thousands of voices whispered and roared around them. There was pain and joy, light and dark but throughout it all was him and that was the point of it. They were the center of each other’s universe and no matter what they would always be there for one another. She inhaled and looked deeper inside of him and he responded.

The Doctor felt Rose’s emotions and passion explode inside of him, felt the time that wrapped around her tear through him almost like it was testing his worthiness. Just as he thought he would regenerate from it, he felt her holding him tight to her and whispering soft comforting words and he knew. She was there for him always. When he felt himself fall, she would catch him. All he could do was gasp her name and then yank her physically to him knocking the goblet and wine down and crash his lips against hers completing the ceremony not in the traditional Gallifreyan way but in a way that was perfect for them.

So strong were their emotions for one another, they could barely wait to undress. Coats were tugged roughly off. Curses were muttered about too many layers. Trainers and boots were unlaced and tossed carelessly aside. Rose shimmied off her jeans and stripped off her bra and knickers as he practically ripped off the rest of his clothing. Rose leapt on him pushing him down on the pillows. She straddled him and pinned his arms down. His eyes widened and darkened as that sexy smirk she loved so much appeared. She grinned down at him. Their minds were in a unity they had not experienced previously and they both knew that would make the physical aspects that much more intense.

She leaned down and licked up his neck to his jaw, pausing only to gentling nip at him. She leaned further over him, still pinning down his arms, her nipples grazing his chest until she reached his ear. She hesitated once to rub her check over his side burn, moaning in delight of the texture of it against her check before proceeding to lavish attention on his ear. The Doctor’s breathing had increased. Respiratory bypass or not, she was driving him over the edge and quickly. Just as she whispered some rather filthy suggestions in his ear involving banana butter and some kitchen utensils, he lost all of his carefully maintained Time Lord control.

He rolled her over in one swift movement until his very erect and impressive Time Lord member was at her moist entrance. “Think you’re so impressive,” she said with heavily hooded eyes. She didn’t fully understand their connection but knew it was there just as she knew exactly what he wanted. Centuries of knowledge of sexual practices began filtering into her mind a little at a time. He was teasing her. It was erotic, shocking and hot. It was also laced with a profound love which made her cry out in pleasure. He’d barely touched her but she felt her body tightening and heat pooling within her. She had visions of his tongue licking and thrumming against every part of her and writhed beneath him, her body spasming in response.

When she opened her eyes, he was still poised over her, a dark satisfied almost arrogant look about him. She was his and he knew it. Determined to get complete satisfaction and show him she may be his but she was still in control, she wrapped her legs around him and shifted his balance so she was once again on top. Rose knew she couldn’t wait any longer or the egotistical prat would try to exert more power over her and in her present state of arousal, she wasn’t so sure she would want to stop him. Without further ado, she reached down and caressed his hard member gently grazing his sensitive flesh with her nails. He hissed “Yes!” as she continued to gently caressed him and positioned herself over him. She moaned as she slowly slid onto him, feeling his hands gripping her hips, his thumb racing the sonic screwdriver tattoo..

His mind was swirling with heat and emotions and time. As Rose began to swivel and rock her hips enjoying how he filled her and the feel of him inside of her, she felt the two of them together as if they were hurling through the vortex. He was grasping at her hips and grunting in pleasure as he wanted to burrow himself further inside of her.

Rose shifted and gripped his shoulders hard as her thighs locked on to him. She bit her lip as their sweat slicked skin slapped against one another and she arched her back and really began riding him as he encouraged her on. “Doctor!” she shouted as she dug her nails down his chest and felt as if all time and space had converged on them. He made a growling possessive noise and he was on top of her driving into her at a pounding pace chanting in her mind in Gallifreyan which soon became “My Rose, mine forever, through all time and space, until the end of time, mine as I am yours.” After one shattering orgasm that Rose swore lasted an eternity thanks to a Time Lord time trick, they collapsed into each others arms. Rose didn’t remember much after that other than something whispered into the back of her mind, a secret powerful name that made time itself tremble and she knew immediately it was him. A warm feeling of contentment enveloped her, a feeling like she had never felt before. That contentment wouldn’t last long. The Master, Gallifrey and an unknown and dangerous battle lay ahead but for now, they would bask in the glow of being together in complete harmony.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Battle for Gallifrey! If you have issues with scary spiders, this may bother you a little. Also, this may jump the shark a bit but only a little bit. There's a twist at the end that I discussed with the betas but we liked it so it stayed. I hope it doesn't throw you off too much. Oh and if you are not familiar with Leela, she was the Fourth Doctor's companion for a while. she stayed on Gallifrey and married a Time Lord named Andred. There is only one more chapter after this one.

The next morning, the room was covered in yellow and pink flowers and a door off to the side was open. Inside, was bath that smelled of jasmine and spice. Tea was sitting on the edge prepared just the way she liked it. Rose stretched out amongst the pillows and flowers before rising and heading directly to the loo. Although she would have liked to wake up next to the Doctor, she wasn’t expecting it. Even if he wasn’t here physically, she could feel him in the back of her mind, happy and working on the Tardis. At that moment and despite what lay ahead on Gallifrey, she didn’t know who was more content amongst her, the Doctor and the Tardis.

After emerging clean and tingly from whatever the Doctor had put in the water which seemed to erase all the aches and twinges from their vigorous love making, she found clothes neatly stacked on the vanity and that’s when she realized the honeymoon was over.

She held up the black leather-like fabric and stared at the ceiling. “Seriously?” she asked, knowing the Tardis was always listening. Not that there was much of a response. Rose sighed and stared at the outfit which was nothing she would ever even think of wearing. “Only bloody him would pick something like this out. Him and his weird perverted fashion sense,” she muttered as she tugged on the clothes. “Thought we were over this already,” she continued to gripe as the black material practically suctioned itself to her skin. “At least he let me keep the boots,” she said, whinging at his clothing choice.

Once dressed, she looked herself in the mirror and rolled her eyes. She was in tight leather pants with her black boots and topped with a leather corseted top with black straps that tied halter style around her neck. The top was laced up the sides and left her midriff exposed. She put on her leather coat which the Doctor had now fitted with many “bigger on the inside pockets” and which were filled with all sorts of things. She pulled out a riding crop and smirked at this, a sack of marbles, rubber bands, wiring, a Satsuma, duck tape, chewing gum, a banana, of course, and finally, a sonic blaster which Rose quickly made sure was in safety mode. There was more but she was afraid to pull it all out.

She quickly shoved the variety of items back into her pockets, glanced at herself in the mirror, rolling her eyes at the sexy leather-clad image reflected and then left to find the Doctor. As she made her way, she couldn’t help but smile as she thought about her first Doctor and his black leather coat. What would he think if he saw her now?

The Doctor, meanwhile, was in the console room preparing them for their trip to Gallifrey. He paused a moment with his hand on the console. “This isn’t going to be easy,” he murmured to the Tardis who hummed in response. He stared into the time rotor. “Thank you old girl, for everything. I’ll never regret the day I found you and ran, and oh how we did run. Didn’t we,” he said, thinking about their adventures. “You saved me so many times during the war,” he said more seriously, dark thoughts of pain and death descending upon him. “I’m sorry you were punished with me. It wasn’t fair but then we found Rose didn’t we.” He smiled at this and felt the Tardis respond in an odd way, almost smugly.

The Doctor straightened. “You,” he whispered softly. “You clever girl you. Her arrival on Earth was no accident was it? Oh, but you never were an ordinary blue box were you? You sensed her crossing the Void, and then you brought her to us,” he murmured pleased. “Thank you,” he said softly and caressed the Time Rotor. He reached out and felt his beloved Uncommon Rose awake and content and a little annoyed. He smiled. She found his gift.

Rose cleared her throat “You two wanna be alone?” she asked with a smile and an arched eyebrow.

He looked at her and smirked sexily looking her up and down almost licking his lips. “Rose, you look…”

“Don’t!” she said, determined to show him she was annoyed and that he was not allowed to dress her up this way. At least, not without her permission. “What the hell is this all about?” she demanded, waving her hand in front of her. She crossed her arms and waited.

He began sidling on over to her. “What?” he asked innocently still taking her in. “You look quite the sexy seductress all suited up in that perfectly acceptable and quite fashionable ensemble.

When he got close, she whipped out the riding crop and pointed it into his chest and shoved him against the console as he grinned at her. “Bondage Barbie? Seriously?” she asked as she dug the crop into his chest as he just leaned back grinning and eventually burst into laughter

“Oh no, you’re not some cute little ordinary blond human doll. More like Mistress Rose, dominatrix of all time and space. Now that would be more like it!” Rose rolled her eyes and trailed the riding crop down his body until she poked it hard into Time Lord bits which seemed a little excited at being prodded this way. He may have moaned. Rose snorted, thinking he was enjoying this a tad too much.

“There a purpose to this other than…the obvious?” Rose asked, enjoying being in control. His brown eyes which were almost black bored into hers and he gripped the riding crop in his hands and drew it up his body until it was pointed over one of his hearts.

“The point, my Uncommon Rose, is power. You are powerful, more powerful than you know. Last night each of us shared power with each other based on mutual trust and respect. I gave you power over me just as you gave me some power over you. We shared our minds and bodies and intertwined our time and destinies. I know who I am and who you are and what we are together, but you don’t. You don’t yet understand and you need to. I’ve never given anyone power over me before, not like this.”

Rose looked at the riding crop pointed at one of his hearts and began to understand. She never wanted to hurt him intentionally or unintentionally. Their bond made them strong but, as with all things in the universe, it could also be used against them. She dropped the riding crop to her side and stared at him worriedly.

The Doctor knew Rose didn’t understand Bad Wolf nor what would activate this power within her. He was also certain that she didn’t know that Bad Wolf had been with them during their bonding. If Bad Wolf hadn’t liked him, he’d be regenerated or dead now. As Rose had made her pact with that Tardis all those years ago, the same now extended to him. They were in harmony with one another, a state of joining that meant if Bad Wolf chose, she could now use the Doctor as much as Rose and that scared him a little. It was important that Rose understand her power and what it meant to both of them.

“It’s not about clothes Rose. It’s about control,” he said walking over to her and placing his hands on her shoulders. “I need you to feel in control.”

Rose nodded her head. It was difficult to get her head around this concept he was conveying to her but she knew it was important that they both arrive on Gallifrey confident, in control and prepared to do what was necessary to preserve time and the universe. She could feel his faith in her as well as an underlying concern if she didn’t embrace this thing that was a part of her and them. She wrapped her arms around him, threading her fingers in his hair and pressed her lips against his in a gentle but firm kiss. She felt him whispering Gallifreyan words in her mind which had no translation other than feelings of warmth and something Rose could only identify as Doctor.

She pulled back and gazed into his eye. “I’m ready,” she said. He nodded his head and pulled a necklace out of his pocket. “This pendant is beyond old, a relic from before there were Time Lords. My people tend not to embrace our past, who we were, instead preferring only to look as far back as when we mastered time. But, as a wise woman once told me, our past makes us who we are. I never want us to forget who we are and where we came from,” he said as he clasped it around her neck. Rose gazed down at the silver medallion which was cut through the middle with stones embedded in what she knew was a significant design. She looked up at him. “Cracked but never broken. It’s too strong for that. Nothing will shatter this,” she spoke not knowing where the words came from. He kissed her on the forehead and with his hand clasped in hers, he pulled her to the console and set them on course for Gallifrey.

The plan was that the transduction barrier that prevented unauthorized dematerialization would be taken offline by Drax and Rummas who would be given a secret way onto Gallifrey by Mortimus who would stay parked in the Vortex until the field was down. Clepsydra would rally as many Time Lords as he could find outside of Gallifrey to join them in deposing the Master and save their people. The Doctor would land his Tardis in the Panoptican and face off against the Master and his personal guard. The Corsair, the Rani, Berenyi and Mortimus along with any other Time Lord that was ready to take a stand would land outside the council chambers to talk sense into any Time Lord that was supporting the Master’s madness and try and find a way to take down the rest of his forces including the Horde of Travesties. Rummas, Drax and Clepsydra would then concentrate on repairing Omicrex’s damage to time and restore fixed events.

It was risky and a lot depended on Time Lords like the Rani and Mortimus who couldn’t be trusted. The Doctor was counting on the lure of gaining more freedom for themselves or an advantage with the council for coming to their rescue. He may not like or trust these rogue Time Lords, but he had faith in their own greed, lust for power and self preservation.

The Master wasn’t difficult to locate. He and several other Time Lords and other life forms were in the heart of the Panoptican. The Panopticon itself was an ancient six sided building built over the Eye of Harmony, a controlled black hole which powered Time Lord society. Around the inside of the building were six black statues of the six founders of Time Lord society, Rassilon, Omega, Pandak, The Other, Apeiron and Eutenoyar. It was a simple design constructed of a green mineral found only on Gallifrey that amplified the power of the Eye of Harmony and emanated a green glow inside the tall stone building. The walls were inscribed with ancient Gallifreyan text meant to guide the council to wisdom and never forget the mistakes of the past. It was a location of power both temporally and politically so it was no surprise the Master was there.

The Tardis dematerialized beneath the seal of Rassilon on one of the dais overlooking the main floor. The Doctor emerged with confidence his dark gray coat flaring out dramatically and followed by a black leather-clad Rose who stood proudly beside him, her silver medallion necklace reflecting the green light. Beneath them, the Master lounged on a throne-like chair, twirling his laser screwdriver wearing an ornate black suit with gold Gallifreyan writing on the collar. Before him lying prone or on their knees, were several Time Lords. One was on his knees panting and looking fearfully at the Master who was grinning in delight. It was Omicrex but not the Omicrex they had met on Earth. He had regenerated and by the looks of things, not by choice.

“Welcome Doctor, to the new and improved Gallifrey. A Gallifrey free of simpering, uninspired politicians like these,” the Master called out and then aimed his laser screwdriver at a Time Lord recovering from regeneration and immediately shooting him, forcing him to regenerate again. Rose felt the Doctor tense.

The Master looked toward the Doctor and smiled as he bounded up. “Well go on! Congratulate your Lord and Master for finally ridding Gallifrey of those stodgy bureaucrats! Don’t be shy, Doctor!”

Rose could feel the Doctor’s anger and outrage building. Apparently, the Master had been causing repetitive regeneration on these Time Lords which was not only painful but damaging. Regenerating over and over again with no recovery time caused a degradation of Time Lord genetics. These Time Lords and Ladies would never be the same again, if they survived.

“You don’t really think we’re going to let you do this do you? Omicrex was wrong as were all who followed him but this is not the answer. You crossed the line Master,” the Doctor said, waves of fury rolling off of him as he stared down the Master.”

“Who are you to judge me! What did you do? Run away! I stopped that pathetic frightened fool Omicrex! This is my world now!” the Master retorted angrily.

“Do you really think I’m going to just stand by and allow one mad man to replace another?” the Doctor asked standing tall and autocratic, staring down at the Master beneath him on the Panoptican main floor.

The Master smirked. “You think you can stop me? You and your…little hybrid? How stupidly optimistic of you.” One of the Time Lords on the floor groaned and sat up. The Master aimed his laser screwdriver over his shoulder and shot the poor Time Lord inciting yet another regeneration.

Rose felt something beginning to rise within her. She focused on the Doctor’s words about control and tried to tamp it down. It was too soon. They weren’t ready yet even if this Master psycho deserved a personal audience with the Bad Wolf.

The Master stared at her and she returned his look standing as still and austere as the Doctor beside her. She felt him trying to slither into her mind and manipulate her. She raised an eyebrow at him as she telepathically slapped him. He laughed. “Oh, but I’m going to enjoy breaking you!” he said with relish. “But first, let me introduce you to my new elite!” he shouted.

Something stirred in the shadows. The Doctor’s eyes widened. “You let them into the Panopticon! You are completely mad!” he said as he watched one of the most dreaded and feared things in the universe slither out toward them. This affirmed how insane the Master was. No one in their right mind would have unleashed such horror. This remnant of the Time War should have been left locked up forever.

“Oh no, Doctor! I’m not mad, I have vision. I am the future of a new Gallifrey, one that will dominate all and establish Gallifrey as the supreme force in the universe. All will bow before us! But first, I think it’s about time for you to become reacquainted with some old friends from the war,” he said, looking satisfied. “Let’s see what the pretty little wolf thinks of the foot soldiers you unleashed on dozens of planets all in the name of Gallifrey.”

The shadows themselves seemed to solidify and lumber forward. Rose had a difficult time seeing them. It was like they were wearing a perception filter. Still, she could feel them and it was not a good feeling. It was cold, terrible and frightening. It was like they reached into the deepest part of her mind and found what she feared most and toyed with it. They shimmered and began forming into something amidst the green glow of the room.

“Doctor, what are they?” Rose asked, staring at the creatures coming toward them.

“The stuff of nightmares. Creatures my people created from time, energy and dark matter. They’re ruthless with no conscious and become what you fear most,” he said as he gripped her hand and tried to draw strength from her as well as make sure she knew they were in this together.

“Right, thought so,” she whispered as she watched them metamorphose into man sized spider-like creatures with multiple eyes, eight legs and gaping jaws. “Shit!”

“Rose, remember,” he said as he felt them trying to breach his telepathic barriers. They may have punched through Rose’s shields but they would find his a bigger challenge and until they did, they would use Rose’s nightmares against both of them. “Remember, together we’re strong.”

Rose’s heart slammed in her chest as she watched six of the spider creatures spring to life before her, the eerie green glow highlighting their black arachnid form as the clicked their way toward her and the Doctor. “Doctor,” she whispered, beginning to tremble. She’d had a bad experience with a spider creature on a Torchwood mission and wasn’t looking forward to repeating it.

“Easy,” he thought to her. He looked at the Master’s smirking face and knew he was controlling them somehow. They had to get to him. Without warning, he jumped with Rose off the dais they were standing on down toward the Master. Rose felt them flying through the air and braced for impact. She stumbled forward and the Doctor flew at the Master. One of the spiders scurried over to Rose. Just as it was about to stab her with one if its pointy legs, she rolled to the side and jumped up and drop kicked it to toward the center of the room. She looked over and could see the Doctor and the Master in a match of the Dialae he had taught her. Their movements were graceful and deadly and their hands and legs moved in blurring movements. The Master appeared to be winning as the Doctor flew backward and hit a wall with a thump.

One the spiders jumped at Rose and pinned her against a wall, its fang filled mouth inches from her face. It smelled like decaying vegetation. She winced and scrunched back as far as she could when she hear the Doctor in her head. “They’re using transmorphic energy! It’s all over them! Use that against them!” He put an image in her mind and she quickly reached into one of her bigger on the inside pockets and pulled out the riding crop which she poked into one of it’s black beady eyes as it advanced. It made a screeching noise and Rose focused on the riding crop and what she wanted it to be. Before her eyes, the riding crop transformed in to a black handled sword which she pulled back and began using to hack at the creature.

“I hate bloody spiders!” she screamed as she hacked at it and was splattered with a disgusting green fluid. She turned on the other spiders as they neared, a determined look in her eyes. She noticed the Master had his laser screwdriver out and was aiming it at the Doctor. She reached in her pocket and pulled out a Satsuma which she threw at the Master knocking the screwdriver from his hand, giving the Doctor an advantage. The Doctor smacked the Master down and struggled with him on the floor.

The spiders began scurrying toward Rose when she felt something on her leg. “Bloody hell!” she screamed as watched the hacked bits of spider sprouting legs and running around. She knocked the bit of re-animated spider off of her and stomped on it. “Oh this is so not fair!” she said as she pounded it into mush on the floor and faced off against the advancing Horde.

***********************

 

President Romana had felt the moment the Doctor and Rose arrived. She had only one advantage left, the Rod of Rassilon. She held it close to her as she made her way through ancient secret passages into the Panopticon making her way onto a dais and looking down at the battle on the main floor.

Rose felt the skin on the back of her neck prickle and looked up to see a tall, regal looking blonde woman with slightly graying hair dressed in red and gold robes had appeared on the dais. She lifted up a red scepter with a large golden crystal on the end and aimed it in the air. The Spiders stopped their advance. Romana looked down at the Doctor and the Master but missed the Time Lord that crept up behind her, plunging a dagger into her back. She cried out and fell to her knees as the young brown-haired, blue robed Time Lord wrenched the scepter from her hands. “The Rod of Rassilon is mine! I’ll say what happens from now on, Master,” he ordered as he aimed the scepter at the Master and the Doctor, its gold stone tip glowing threateningly.

The Master shoved the Doctor back and picked up his screwdriver, aimed and fired, shattering the stone on the scepter and then shooting the wide-eyed Time Lord. “I think not! He turned toward the Doctor. “As if some sniveling little putz like him is gonna ride my coat tails to the top! Now where were we?” the Master asked as he aimed is screwdriver at the Doctor who had his own screwdriver out aimed at the Master. The two Time Lords circled each other. The Doctor knew his sonic couldn’t disarm the Master’s laser but he could still use it to his advantage.

The Master grinned as he faced the Doctor. “Can’t have little Rosie Posie feeling left out, can we and his red stoned ring glinted in the light. The spiders hopped back to life and focused on Rose.

“It’s the ring,” Rose thought to the Doctor who nodded and activated his sonic at the glass ceiling high above them, shattering it so that it rained down on all of them. Rose ran toward them, as glass shards fell all around her bouncing off the tough leather of her coat. The doors to the Panoptican were thrown open and the Corsair burst into the room. “Slitheenian spitwads!” she swore as she took in the scene of, broken glass, the Horde of Travesties as giant spiders, Rose with a sword, the Doctor racing toward the Master and several semi conscious Time Lords moaning.

The Rani appeared next to the Corsair. “This is madness. It’ll never work!” she announced, eyeing the spiders and then backed out of the room. The Castellan and Mortimus walked up. “The President!” Castellan Andred shouted, looking toward the fallen Romana and the Time Lord next to her who was beginning to regenerate. Mortimus chuckled and took a seat, lounging back to watch events unfold. The Corsair cursed and looked at a group of the Master’s Time Lord conspirators and hired assassins huddled on one side of the Panoptican as if they didn’t know which way to turn first. The Corsair turned toward the other Time Lords who had followed her and were armed but who also stood staring and seemed too stunned to move, some of them murmuring about “the Horde of Travesties.”

Andred’s wife Leela strode proudly in dressed for battle and carrying a short sword. Leela looked down at the floor and without the protection of a Time Lord mind and barriers, didn’t see Rose’s spiders but instead saw something from her past, a giant carnivorous lizard known as a grylock. She hadn’t seen one of those since she left her planet with the Doctor many years ago. Her breath caught until Andred grabbed her hand and yanked her toward him, breaking the Horde’s telepathic attack. She struggled with him until she realized what was happening and then turned toward the creatures seeing them as they manifested for Rose. Her eyes narrowed at their cowardly way of fighting. “Mind tricks,” she spit out. She turned to Andred. “Go! The Lady Romana requires assistance.” Andred left and Leela turned to the battle before her. She smiled as she admired Rose’s skills in Dialae combined with her skill with a sword as she fought her way through the spiders toward the Doctor. Leela nodded. She would fight in this glorious battle beside the Doctor’s consort.

She gripped her own sword and stood tall, glancing once at Andred treating the President and then looking down at floor watching Rose face off against the Horde while the Doctor and Master sparred. She quirked a smile watching the Doctor battle against the evil Master. “And you once said you were no warrior,” she murmured.

She leapt down onto the main floor and with a battle cry hacked at the first spider she came to on her way to Rose. She executed several expert moves, plunging and slashing her sword in a sort of macabre killing spree dance. She flipped her long brown hair aside as she came up beside Rose facing off against the Horde.

Rose looked at her dressed in primitive brown leather and animal skin trousers and vest with leather bands about her arms. “Who the hell are you? Xena Warrior Princess?” Rose asked as she batted one of the spiders away with her sword. “I am Leela, daughter of Sole of the Sevateem and consort of Castellan Andred. I am no princess. And you, you are the Doctor’s consort. What does your tribe call you?” Leela demanded.

Rose quirked a smile. “Rose, just um Rose. Nice sword by the way. But, the bits you hack off sort of come to life,” she informed Leela as one of said bits came scampering up and was stomped into the ground by Rose.”

Leela, with a hard look on her face and sword before her, stomped another reanimated bit. “They will not defeat us. Come Rose, let us settle this like warriors.”

Rose looked at her and raised her eyebrows as some of the Doctor’s memories of traveling with Leela drifted through her mind. She smiled a wolfish smile. She liked this Leela. She had spirit even if she was a bit blood thirsty.

While they faced off against giant spiders, The Doctor and the Master circled each other, having lost their screwdrivers in the fray of falling glass and deadly spiders scurrying around them. “You know you can’t defeat me,” the Master taunted. “Soon the Horde will be devouring your flesh as I consume every last bit of your regenerations and take your wolf as my new pet.”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” the Doctor said, bleeding from the shards of falling glass, the Oncoming Storm beginning to surface only now after seeing the full extent of the Master’s plans and any mercy he may have had for the Master evaporated when he threatened Rose. He could feel the wolf howl and it reverberated through him. The Master stared at him as he noticed something different in the Doctor.

“What are you doing? What happened to you?” he demanded as he pulled a dagger from a hidden sheath, holding it ready to attack.

The Doctor smirked. “I communed with a wolf and she doesn’t like power hungry prats like you!”

The Master attacked moving faster than any human could see. The Doctor met his moves like it was nothing. The Master realized he’d lost the advantage and called one of his Horde over to deal with the Doctor as he dove for his laser screwdriver on the floor. The Doctor lunged to the side in time to miss being trampled by one of the spiders but it caught one of his legs in its mouth and bit hard. Rose turned and saw this and the power she had been containing burst out. “No!” she shouted and her voice echoed about the building. Everyone turned toward her as a golden glow began to envelope her. The spider tossed the Doctor aside and faced her.

The Master stared at her in awe. “Beautiful,” he whispered with envy and lust. The Corsair and other Time Lords had made their way down to the main floor and had been working their way through the Horde tossing time bombs on some of the creatures to time lock them. The Corsair was feet from the Doctor by the time Rose let loose. The Corsair’s eyes widened slightly and she stilled watching how this would play out.

“No,” Rose said again in an ethereal voice as she casually walked up to one of the spiders. Leela followed her at distance, still eyeing the spiders suspiciously. Rose reached out and touched one of the Horde and the golden glow enveloped the creature and it screeched and began changing, its form becoming more amorphous and multi colored. “All things come to dust. Everything dies. Your time is over,” she said and the all the Horde began mimicking what was happening to the one Rose touched until soon they were nothing but dust swirling about the room.

Rose turned toward the Master. Leela stood by her side, sword drawn. “Gallifrey is my tribe and I will not permit you to harm it,” Leela announced glaring at the Master. He laughed as several of his Time Lords and assassins armed with staff-like weapons in hand came rushing at them. “As if some primitive could ever harm me! Kill them all!” he ordered.

“Leave this to me,” Leela told Rose and she ran at them, engaging them in hand to hand combat. She was soon joined by Berenyi who picked off their attackers with well aimed daggers thrown with expert precision. As Leela stomped on one, Berenyi stood to the side and lit a cigarette. “Useless and pathetic, the lot of you,” she commented and blew smoke out of her mouth as if she was bored. She looked across the room and saw a few more traitor Time Lords inching their way along a wall toward an exit. She smiled evilly at them and held up a knife. “Paybacks a bitch,” she commented, before dropping them like the proverbial flies.

Meanwhile Rose and the Master faced each other. “Come on then. You know you want me,” he taunted. “Or maybe, I should just finish off someone you care about.” Without another word he grabbed his laser screwdriver, turned and aimed it at the Doctor. The Corsair was quicker than he was and threw herself in front of the Doctor, taking the brunt of the shot for the already wounded Doctor.

“Noooo!” both the Doctor and Rose called out, but it was too late and the Corsair dropped to the floor. Rose and the Doctor narrowed their eyes on the Master and the room reverberated with power.

A golden glow began to heal the Doctor’s wounds and he stood up. “This ends now!” the Doctor spit out, his eyes dark pits of rage broken only by a spark of golden light in their depths.

The Master hesitated and looked back and forth from the Doctor on one side of him and Rose on the other. Both of them stood still and looked at him almost as if he were nothing but and insect to them. The Master was looking desperate as each of them took a step closer to him. Rose stopped as time itself swirled about her. The building began to glow the floor vibrated. “You would dominate all, time, the universe and all that resides therein. Time is wounded and bleeding. We will not allow you to deepen the wounds. They must be healed.”

The Master felt the Doctor close in on him and decided to rush at Rose. “I’ll tell you what ends now!” he shouted as he tried to plunge his dagger at Rose. Rose grabbed his wrist and he screamed dropping the dagger with a clank as he fell to his knees looking up at her and the Doctor who was now behind him.

Rose gripped his wrist and twisted until a cracking sound was made and the Master screamed. She could see everything he’d ever done and would do given the chance. She watched as he had invaded Gallifrey sparing no one and how the people had died as he unleashed the Horde not only on the Time Lord Council but also the innocent citizens residing within the city. He was mad with lust for power and she saw how he would enslave worlds and strip them of their natural resources for his own glory and amusement. Anger built within her and the floor cracked as she pondered the horrors she could make this vile creature suffer.

The Doctor saw some of his own darkness leeching into his Rose and felt his hearts stutter. He would not allow her to be consumed by it even though the Master deserved to suffer. “Rose,” he said roughly. “There’s been enough killing here today. You are my Uncommon Rose and she does not torture or destroy in retribution. She’s better than that.”

Rose looked up at him and realization of what she was capable of doing in that moment almost overwhelmed her. She dropped the Master’s wrist like it was poison and stumbled away from him, tears coursing down her cheek. She looked at the Doctor in fear and horror. He stepped over and pulled her into his arms. “It’s over. Let it go.”

The Master stood up. “It’s never over!” he shouted but before he could do anything, Leela, grabbed his broken arm and tossed him to the ground. She stood over him with a sword at his throat. “It is over now!” she said, glaring at him almost daring him to move so she could finish him.

The Corsair started to show the first signs of regeneration. “Corsair!” Rose said in a pain filled voice as she the Doctor ran over to her. The Corsair looked up at the Doctor. “Now you owe me one, old friend,” she gasped.

“I think we’re even, old friend,” the Doctor responded as he clung to Rose in his arms who was now openly weeping.

“Don’t cry, flower. Twas a good death,” the Corsair said as she was enveloped in gold fire. Soon, she was transforming before their eyes and sat up with a cough of golden energy.

Rose was stunned and not just at seeing a Time Lord regenerate. After all, she had seen her old Doctor regenerate but this…this was just unbelievable. The Corsair had regenerated into the image of Captain Jack Harkness right down to the mischievous sparkle in his blue eyes.

He hopped up stretched and looked down at himself. “Well?” he asked looking at her and smiling.

Rose smiled brightly back wiping her tears away. “You’re gorgeous!”

The Doctor rolled his eyes and gripped her tighter to him. “Oh don’t give him a big head!”

The Corsair laughed. “Must be pretty tasty looking if he’s acting this way!” he said and rubbed his hand over his face and through his raven black hair. “Nice to be a bloke again. Not that I won’t miss certain advantages of the bodacious breasts mind you. Still, a new pretty face has its advantages, if you know what I mean,” he said and winked at Rose.

Rose giggled. She couldn’t believe the Corsair was Captain Jack. This was going to take some getting used to but still, she was just glad the Corsair was alive. A silver haired, aristocratic Time Lady with violet eyes and wearing the presidential robes approached them with the Castellan at her side.

“Doctor, Corsair and I take it you are the Doctor’s Rose,” Romana said, inclining her head slightly. “Thank you for coming.”

“Romana,” the Doctor acknowledged. “Thank you for not arresting us.” Rose looked at the Doctor confused wondering why they would be arrested when they’d just saved everyone.

“That might be a bit rude considering what you accomplished today. Of course, the council may say otherwise but we shall address that at a later time. Now, we must focus on repairing the damage. Castellan informs me that Lord Drax and Lord Clepsydra need your expertise before we all implode in a spectacular singularity.”

The Doctor grinned. “Right, well that’s no fun. Better get down there then. You coming Corsair? Don’t want to miss the fun now do you?” the Doctor teased.

The Corsair grinned and walked up to President Romana. “My Lady President,” he said and kissed her knuckles, winking at her as he ran after the Doctor and Rose.

Romana quirked a smile and then sighed. “Castellan, we have work to do,” she announced as they began taking the Master and his accomplices into custody and treating the wounded. No one noticed as Berenyi and Mortimus quietly slipped away. Romana was focused on bigger problems such as what to do with the Doctor and Rose. Crimes and transgressions had been committed even if they saved Gallifrey and Time Lords had long memories. She would have be very clever to keep the peace and see justice done.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this was going to be the final chapter but it ended up so long that I had to split it in two. I hope you enjoy the final chapters as much as I have enjoyed writing this story. Thank you so much for reading!

Reworking the fixed point paradox device and repairing alterations to timelines and fixed points was a complex process. Rose had stood back and marveled at the amount of shouting, bickering and out and out brawls that almost occurred during the process. At times it was comical and at other times frightening as she felt time shift. It reminded her of nails scraping down a chalk board and just about made her physically ill. Throughout it all, she felt the Doctor with her even if he wasn’t holding her hand. When she thought she would curl up in a ball from time sickness, he was there, telepathically calming her and holding her up.

Eventually, and after almost imploding the planet, they began making progress. During one particularly nasty argument between Clepsydra and a Time Lord by the name of Taloricksanavarra, Clepsydra stamped his foot and flounced out muttering curses under his breath. That was the last Rose saw of him and assumed he snuck off world to go back to his luxurious lifestyle. When Leela showed up and offered to take Rose somewhere she could rest and renourish, she was thankful. The Doctor looked over at her and nodded. She smiled back sending him the equivalent of a telepathic kiss and left with Leela.

As they walked, Rose couldn’t help but admire Leela. She stood tall and proud marching amongst a flurry of Time Lords whose combined intellect could be intimidating, but not to Leela.

“So Leela, how long’ve you known the Doctor?” Rose asked as she watched robed Time Lords and more modestly dressed city dwellers scurry by them amidst the unusual architecture that made up the city. She hadn’t expected modern artistic sculptural metal buildings to be mixed with traditional stone structures.

Leela kept marching forward. “Long enough. And you? How did you come to meet the Doctor?”

Rose smiled. “It’s a bit complicated.”

“Of course, it is the Doctor,” Leela acknowledged with a terse nod.

Rose laughed. “Yeah, nothin’ about him’s really easy is it? It’s all right though. I kind of like it that way. Does that make me a nutter?”

Leela quirked a smile. “It makes you his match and I do not say that lightly. The Doctor is not an easy man to travel with or befriend. Especially, since the war.”

Rose grew silent thinking about Leela’s comment. “No, I spose he’s changed a lot.”

Leela led her down an alley between buildings and they arrived in a park surrounded by several tall stone buildings with Gallifreyan symbols carved on them. Rose gasped in delight at the park which was carpeted with vermillion grass, silver-leafed trees, some small shrubbery with delicate flowers that looked like they were made of Swarovski crystals which sparkled in the light, and some smaller clumps of delicate looking pink flowers that reminded Rose of tiny peonies. “It’s beautiful,” Rose breathed out in an awe-filled voice.

“Yes, I suppose it is. Sit here. I will return with sustenance,” Leela commanded, pointing to a large silver leafed tree. Rose turned to her to offer to help but Leela had already left. Rose sank into the vermillion grass beneath the tree and leaned her back against the trunk. She looked up at the orange sky reflected on the silver leaves and inhaled the sweet, spicy scent of the garden and started to relax. A gentle breeze blew through the garden making a musical sound as it whispered through the leaves of the tree above her. She smiled and closed her eyes, just enjoying the peace of this place.

*******************************

 

The Doctor was impatient to have Omicrex’s temporal mess settled so he could find Rose and leave quickly before things devolved into hearings, debates, investigations or worse. Every Time Lord in the lab was driving him barmy, even the Corsair. This new regeneration had some very annoying personality quirks, one of which was spinning bawdy tales about his exploits as they related to the task at hand. The Doctor just about blew a gasket when one such tale included him. Luckily, one of the Time Lords assisting them cut the Corsair short with a technical question. As soon as he was assured things were settling into something close to stable, he fled. His only goal as he briskly made his way through the city was to find Rose and leave.

As he walked, his coat billowing around him and a determined look on his face, people around him inclined their heads, smiled or greeted him on sight. He slowed as it hit him. He was home on Gallifrey, a Gallifrey he had not seen in over a century and his people were treating him…with respect and affection. He felt emotions well up as he realized how long it had been since had felt this feeling of home. Then it hit him. That wasn’t true. He did feel at home with Rose and the Tardis. Gallifrey was his past, part of what made him who he is just like Rose said. He smiled when he realized how wise his Uncommon Rose really was and how most Time Lords, as brilliant as they may be, couldn’t even come close to matching her. He quickened his pace as he made his way to her.

He entered the garden and paused as he saw her resting amongst the red grass littered with silver leaves from the tree she was napping beneath. He slowly made his way over, pausing a few feet from her where a tray filled with Gallifreyan delicacies and tea had been set.

Leela walked up to him. “You have chosen well. She is brave and loyal, a fitting consort for one such as you.”

The Doctor cocked an eyebrow and looked at Leela. “One such as me?”

“You need someone to tell you when it is time to stop talking; someone to walk with you through the fire and destruction in your path; and someone to tell you that you are not alone and that all is not in darkness.”

The Doctor stared at her for a few minutes before saying anything. “You’ve changed, Leela. When did you become a such a philosopher? Perhaps you’ve been on Gallifrey too long. This place tends to make one forget what’s real and twists your view of the universe. Don’t let them do that to you.”

Leela turned to him, her eyes narrowed. “I forget nothing and I do not turn away from my heritage. Time Lords say Gallifrey is inside of them. Perhaps you should think on this before you face the President with your consort.”

“Oh, we’ll be long gone before that happens,” he retorted as he began to fidget.

Leela smiled. “The President has enacted a planet wide moratorium on travel. You cannot run from this. It is time for you to be a warrior of a different sort. The council members are cowards and fearful of change. You and Rose must show them you will not allow them to steal your free will.”

The Doctor scowled. “Politicians!” he spit out. “I suppose I should have expected that.” He turned to her and pointed at her. “I’ve escaped one imprisonment before and I’ll not stand by while those pompous sneering pillocks try to dictate to Rose and I. No one harms my Rose. No one.”

Leela smiled. “A true warrior’s spirit. Good. I still do not envy your consort.”

“Rose is fine as long as she’s with me,” he said darkly and with a stubborn tilt of his chin.

Leela nodded. “Yes. And she will protect you from yourself. Do not take her for granted or you will hear from me. Now go see to her. She must nourish before the hearing and you must prepare an arsenal of words sufficient to defeat the long winded cowards of the Council.

The Doctor looked at her, annoyed. “Not necessary. We’re leaving. Thank you for seeing to Rose while I was indisposed, Leela,” the Doctor said dismissively.

“You are not the same Doctor who left Gallifrey after the war,” she observed, noting the softening of his features as he gazed at Rose. “I think Rose has been good for you. I bid you farewell, Doctor. Treat your Rose well and with respect. If I hear otherwise, my blade will find you.” The Doctor turned and watched Leela exit and couldn’t help the slight smile that emerged. He mused that perhaps his favorite savage had not been so tamed by Gallifrey.

He knelt by Rose and she stirred looking up at him with sleepy, pleased eyes and a smile brightened her face. “Doctor, all finished with the temporal whatsit?” she said and yawned as she sat up and snuggled closer to him.

“Finished enough. Grab a quick bite to eat. We need to leave now before those pompous council members find us and we are stuck in some bureaucratic temporal cluster bollux.” Rose nodded, smirking at the annoyed scowl on his face and reached for some orange scone like pastries that had a unique spicy flavor to them and moaned in appreciation.

“Doctor, these are so good! What are they?”

He picked one up and stuffed the whole thing in his mouth and closed his eyes as he chased it down with a cup of tea. “Kilasourans. Gallifreyan pastries made from berries gathered in the mountains. Nothing like them anywhere in the universe,” he said as he grabbed another one. Rose smiled and watched him as she nibbled on her own and reached for some fruit.

As they enjoyed their meal, Rose thought about what it must mean for him to be back on Gallifrey. “Doctor, do you miss it? Bein’ on Gallifrey, I mean?” Rose asked as she suddenly became fascinated with a silver leaf sitting in the grass next to her.

“Maybe, a little. It has been a while since I’ve been back. Welll, I say I miss it but really I mean some things like the kilasourans and maybe a few people, but not the politics or the boring speeches and the stodgy rules,” he said, waving his hand about.

Rose looked up at him earnestly. If you wanted to stay, we could. I mean, if that’s what you want,” Rose said nervously. She couldn’t help but ask. Memories of her other Doctor and the sad far away look in his eye as he saw something familiar that reminded him of his lost world kept whispering into her mind. She couldn’t help but wonder if this Doctor might share some of that longing.

The Doctor caught a few whisps of her thoughts and reached for her hand. “Rose, my home is with you on the Tardis. Of course I like it here and it’s nice to visit, but that’s where it ends. Wherever you are and we are together…that’s my home. Besides, I’d never do this to you…drag you to some stuffy, stuck up world where a bunch of arrogant prats walk around like stuffed peacocks that do no wrong,” he scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Speaking of which, it’s time we made our escape,” he announced, hopped up and pulled her up with him.

“But what about Leela and the Corsair?” Rose asked as he quickly led her out of the garden.

“I’ve already made our goodbyes and honestly, the Corsair has probably taken off already. At least I hope he has. I’m not sure about this regeneration. He’s a bit…”

“Flirty, charming, cheeky and with a certain air of sex appeal?” Rose asked, grinning and then shot the Doctor a few memories of her Captain Jack.

The Doctor came to an abrupt halt and stared at her. “No, I mean just no. That’s the Corsair not some intergalactic conman and playboy and…..,” he declared and ran a hand though his hair staring at Rose before sighing. “Fine, maybe he has a few of those traits.” Suddenly, the Doctor paused and looked at Rose. “Wait a minute, he regenerated while you were going all Bad Wolf and it was your Bad Wolf that…” he said and gestured up and down with his hands “immortalized that Jack person in your home universe.” He then began scrubbing his face and pacing.

“Doctor, what are you sayin?” Rose asked shocked. What did he mean immortalize Jack? Then, he shared memories that had been repressed in her mind, hidden by another Time Lord who didn’t want her to bear the guilt for what she had done. She felt almost sick at the realization of what her Jack was now. She then understood what he was inferring.

The Doctor heaved a sigh. “Bloody Bad Wolf.” He looked at Rose. “I think our friendly wolf may have played a tiny joke on us and influenced the Corsair’s regeneration.”

Rose gasped and brought her hands to her face as the full implications between what she had done to her Jack and what she might have done to the Corsair hit her. She looked up at the Doctor frightened at what she may have unintentionally done. “Is…the Corsair all right?” she asked tentatively.

The Doctor pulled her into his arms and hugged her. “Of course. Besides, it wasn’t just you, my Uncommon Rose. Bad Wolf did this.” He tilted her chin up and gazed seriously into her eyes while telepathically calming her. “You have a fondness for this Jack person. Bad Wolf is a part of you so your memories and who you are influence it. Maybe it saw something in the Corsair’s future and influenced his regeneration to compensate.”

Rose thought about this and then smiled. “So she made him all handsome, cheeky and flirty to compensate then?” she said laughing, beginning to feel a strange comfort at the thought of what she had done. It was like Bad Wolf was subtly influencing her even now. Initially horrified by what she had done to Jack, something inside of her said it was necessary and he had a part to play and it meant her original Doctor would never be alone. The two of them would continue to meet when each needed the other most. She wished she could have that much of a grasp of why the Corsair had regenerated this way but Bad Wolf was not so revealing on that point.

The Doctor rolled his eyes at Rose’s comment. “I don’t even want to know.” He grasped her hand and pulled her further along.

Rose looked around and realized they were heading in a different direction than the Panopticon. “Doctor, isn’t the Tardis the other way?”

He sighed and she watched a shadow pass over his face. “No, they’ve moved her. They’re attempting to keep us here,” he answered in a hard tone.

Rose knew from that expression and tone of voice how bad this was. Something was brewing and it wasn’t good. The Doctor did thank Romana for not arresting them after they defeated the Master. Rose had thought this odd at the time but now it was worrying here. From what she’d seen, Time Lords were devious, manipulative, arrogant and with delusions of superiority over all things. It wouldn’t be too far off to think they would want a scapegoat for all of this, and what better scapegoats than she and the Doctor? They had been fleeing arrest when they’d left Earth after all.

As they ducked down an alley and emerged into a courtyard, the Castellan stepped out of the shadows. The Doctor stiffened beside Rose. “Castellan,” he said formally and in a clipped tone. He stood tall and proud, the picture of Time Lord arrogance.

The Castellan looked equally serious. “Doctor, Lady Rose. The President and Council would like a word with you.”

The Doctor knew the Castellan would be looking for them but had hoped to avoid this. He vibrated with anger and the only thing keeping him in check was Rose.

“Is that so,” the Doctor responded in a deceptively calm voice.

Rose knew he was furious and was expecting the worse. She could fell the Oncoming Storm about to be unleashed. “Scuse me, Castellan right? I’m not real familiar with Gallifreyan customs or politics but, seems to me this is a bit abrupt. Maybe I’m wrong but we did save everyone and that should mean somethin’ shouldn’t it? Or, is it policy here to arrest the people that just saved your collective arses?” Rose asked with a friendly smile she wasn’t feeling. The Doctor snorted but otherwise said nothing.

The Castellan seemed amused. “My lady, it is not for me to attempt to challenge the edicts of the Council. All I can tell you is that the President is very grateful and the gratitude of a President, especially one who warned the Council of the folly of following one such as Lord Omicrex, carries a certain weight here.”

“How very diplomatic of you, Andred,” the Doctor commented dryly. “I suppose if we don’t cooperate willingly, you’ll make things unpleasant.”

The Castellan looked at the Doctor speculatively. “I’m sure it won’t come to that. Now, if you please, the President and Council are waiting,” Castellan Andred said and indicated a direction with his arm. The Doctor sighed and pulled Rose to his side as they made their way to the council chambers.

Rose was slightly worried as they walked through cavernous halls that echoed their footsteps back to them. She couldn’t help but notice a few suspicious glances shot at them by Time Lords who passed them. As they approached the main hall, the Doctor tensed and stood taller, radiating proud, imperious Time Lord and his grip on her hand tightened. Rose felt herself respond to his tension and walked a bit taller herself, looking disdainfully at some of the Time Lords they passed, some of whom even seemed to flinch at her look. She couldn’t help a slight smirk and satisfaction at this reaction.

When they reached two large ornate double doors emblazoned with what she learned was the seal of Rassilon, she squeezed the Doctor’s hand and sent him a reassuring telepathic message that no matter what happened, she was with him and would face down whatever the Time Lords threw at them. She would be at his side until the universe turned to dust around them.

The two of them walked into the council chambers as if they owned places of honor there. Rose’s heart pounded as they entered an enormous round room surrounded on all sides with stadium-like seating filled with Time Lords. At one end on a separate dais set within the room was the President and her entourage. They were led across the stone floor decorated with Gallifreyan symbols to a circle with Gallifreyan writing around the edge.

“Lord Doctor, you have been summoned to answer to the council for you actions,” a booming voice echoed in the council chambers by an elderly Time Lord wearing ornate scarlet robes. He stood on the dais and stared down at them with disdain and condescension.

Rose felt her hackles rising as she realized they were being tried. Before she could say anything, the Doctor spoke. “Is that so? Funny, as I recall I returned to Gallifrey to save all of you from Omicrex and the Master after you practically handed the keys to the universe over to them. And that’s after you tried to hand me and my lady over to them first. You should count yourself lucky I even came to stop them and save you.”

“Silence! You will speak when questioned!” Lord Soran, the Inquisitor Prime intoned imperiously.

“I think not,” the Doctor said in a quiet voice that still echoed about the chamber. “I will not stand here and be lectured by someone who did nothing to save Gallifrey but instead handed it over to the Master. Perhaps the council here should hear more about your involvement before giving you any authority to question me,” he said smoothly and confidently.

Lord Soran looked furious. The Castellan, who had made his way up to the Dais stepped forward with another Time Lady. “Lady Olethianockolian, as the new head of the Celestial Intervention Agency, I would ask you to address this serious accusation. Lord Soran’s credibility as Inquisitor has been questioned.”

Lord Soran looked up at him, enraged. “This has nothing to do with the charges pending against this outlaw!” he bellowed.

Lady Olethianockolian stared at him with cold grey eyes, her fair aristocratic features and ornate blonde hair belying the ruthless Time Lady beneath. To be head of the CIA, one must be cunning, callous and cut throat. She was all of those things and more. She had watched as the Master regenerated a member of her family over and over again until nothing was left but a husk. Anyone party to his ascension to power would receive no mercy from her. She was a member of the house of Rassilon and had seen much of corruption and politics. She had no love of the Doctor but if he provided her with an opportunity to see justice, she’d take it.

“Lord Soran, your integrity has been questioned and although the accusation is made by one whose own credibility is questionable, it is not the first time such information has been made public. We cannot allow someone tarnished to oversee such important proceedings. Until such time as your own actions may be questioned, you are removed from office and remitted to detention for further investigation.

Lord Soran sputtered and paled. The Doctor looked on with amusement but reflected none of that on his face or in his eyes. Rose could feel it in him though and sent him a telepathic message. “They’re usin’ us to draw out betrayers, yeah?”

He acknowledged they were and that the Castellan had telepathically given him the heads up on the walk over here. Before they could communicate further, Lord Soran was led away and another green robed Time Lord approached. Rose felt the Doctor’s mood shift for the better. He knew this Time Lord. They had been friends once and the Doctor respected him. Rose could see the mood in the room shifting. They were all nervous now that Lord Soran had been led away. She tried to hide her smile as she realized they knew they were in trouble and that they were all under scrutiny.

President Romana spoke next. “Until the allegations made against Lord Soran can be confirmed or denied, Lord Polestranamous shall continue as Inquisitor. Lord Polestranamous, if you will continue,” Romana announced.

Lord Polestranamous nodded his head at President Romana and then faced the Doctor and Rose, his face revealing nothing.

“Lord Doctor, as you were previously informed, you have been summoned to answer for your actions on Earth and abroad. It has been alleged you violated the terms of your confinement to Earth and recall to Gallifrey, and absconded with a person of interest who is alleged to have harmed four Time Lords. What say you to these charges of disobeying an edict of the Council and abetting a creature who is a threat to Gallifrey?”

“First off, I was the one being threatened by Omicrex as you all well know. It was apparent that everything that happened on Earth was due to his political machinations and had little to do with my administration of the planet or Rose. Oh and if you don’t mind, the creature is a person who deserves to be recognized as a member of my house. As a matter of fact, she stands by me as my consort, my counterpart and head of my house. Rose Tyler landed here from a parallel universe. Any harm that came to Time Lords was due to improper handling of a telepathic species that perceived that mishandling as an attack. Once I spoke with her and realized the error, I apologized for the attempted violation of her mind. As you all know, violating the mind of another advanced species is against our own laws.” There was much murmuring in response to the Doctor’s words.

He continued. “Rose was horrified at the harm caused. She apologized and spoke to the Time Lords in question. They hold no grudges against her. She had knowledge of fluctuations and tears in the Void and was key in resolving the stabilization of the multiverse. Even with the knowledge she would strand herself in this universe and be unable to return to her home and family, she still stayed and to stop the universal rupture. She has shown herself to be courageous and self-sacrificing. Even when kidnapped and tortured by the Rani, her actions were governed by a sense of ethics that few here possess. She has done nothing but help clean up the mess our own people perpetrated on ourselves and the universe and I will stand by her as her protector and…her husband,” he finally acknowledged.

Rose looked up at him stunned while there was more murmuring in the council chambers. Some whispered treason, others outlaw, an affront to the good name of his house, and still others, protector, justice must be served and blind fool, lucky but a fool. Rose didn’t care what they thought. She stared up at her imposing, sometimes cranky and always egotistical Time Lord and felt such love for him. It was no small thing what he had just done, acknowledging her that way. There would be repercussions for him calling her consort, wife and equal. His people wouldn’t see it that way. By extending his protection to her and naming her Lady of his house, any harm done to her had to be done to him and in turn his house and that would not go un-noticed by all of Gallifrey. The Doctor’s house was old and respected even if he wasn’t. He might be a rebel and scofflaw, thumbing his nose at most Gallifreyan traditions and politics, but he still claimed an important heritage. He was still a hero to some who knew what he had done in the war and that meant there was just enough political clout to make any retribution against him dangerous. She focused on sending him her overwhelming feelings of love and how much his acknowledgment meant to her. A slight smirk may have flickered on his face for the barest second along with a stray thought. “Let them come for us, my Uncommon Rose. Just let them dare.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter! I adore Dark!Ten and this has been so much fun to write. I will probably add to this series with some one shots addressing some of the rooms in the Tardis that Dark!Ten was so keen on showing Rose. If you have a room you want to read about, please leave a comment and I will do my best to add it to a list. I'm not sure when I will get to them but I will post some eventually. There may be another small Dark!Ten bunny but I'm waiting to see if it grows into something bigger. Once again, thank you so much for reading!

Soon, President Romana called for discussion and they were led out into a study with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the city. The Doctor stood before those windows, silent and staring out, his hands in his pockets while Rose wandered about the room, looking at artwork and old high Gallifreyan carved into the walls. She eventually came up to stand beside him and started to speak but he put his finger to her lips and whispered “listening” into her mind. Rose rolled her eyes and shook her head and now understood why he ran away from this place. They may be advanced super intelligent beings but they were also oh so flawed. So caught up in how they had mastered time and gained superior intellect and knowledge, they had forgotten the basics. Technology and intellect could not save them from themselves. Even in this world of repressed emotions and worship of science above all else, greed and lust of power still existed. They sacrificed love and compassion and for what?

Hours passed and dinner was served to them. They ate in silence as the orange sky dimmed into night. Rose looked at an amazing night sky above her filled with prominent glowing gas nebulas, shooting stars and swirling galaxies that looked so close she could almost touch them. This was nothing like an Earth night sky. The city seemed surrounded by a soft orange and yellow glow. The Doctor pulled out a sketch pad and began scribbling on it. When Rose walked around, she could see he had sketched her lying under the silver leafed tree she had napped under earlier.

She leaned down and laid a gentle kiss on his temple and he dropped the sketch pad and pulled her into his lap. Rose laid her head on his shoulder and sighed as he whispered into her ear, “Rest, my Rose.” She drowsed off to the sound of his double heartbeat and him humming a song to her.

The Doctor wasn’t too concerned. He knew the council could debate this topic for years if they wanted and during that time he and Rose would be safe. Of course, it wouldn’t come to that. Romana knew he wouldn’t sit still for long. She knew he would find a way to leave. He hadn’t liked being used to flush out those who had secretly supported Omicrex or who double crossed him to bring in the Master. Romana was smart and knew how to work things to her favor. Although he hated being in the middle of all this, he knew Romana could be an ally. She owed him. He had taken the blame for some things that gone wrong in the war, including those lost in the void; and, he was the reason she was president to begin with. She may not be the same Romana he had once traveled with or romanced, but deep down, he trusted her. She was loyal and wanted what was best for her people.

He looked down at Rose sleeping peacefully. In some ways the two women were alike. Both were fiercely loyal, courageous and would stand up for their beliefs. Both had stood up to him. But, that’s where it ended. Romana was far more calculating and less emotional. It was far easier for her to cut someone to the quick or manipulate a situation to her benefit than it would be for Rose. No, he didn’t think Rose would ever be able to be that way and he would never put her in a situation requiring her to be so. He wanted Rose to stay Rose.

He gently caressed her hair and she snuggled into him. He loved his world but they needed to leave. Every second here put Rose in danger. Word of what she had done was being whispered among those who would use her to their advantage. This world was ripe with political intrigue, especially now after the recent unrest. New alliances were being made and deals were being cut. He’d see them all burn before he allowed them anywhere near her. He felt his possessive nature almost consume him as his arms tightened around her. Rose murmured in her sleep causing him to close his eyes and slip into her dream. For a brief moment, he enjoyed respite in a dream world filled with he and Rose walking through scarlet grass and silver leafed trees.

Rose awoke with a start as she felt the Doctor tense and shift. When she looked up, she could see several of the Castellan’s guard waiting on them.

“They’ve finished. It’s time to go,” the Doctor said softly to her. Rose wiped the sleep from her eyes and slid off his lap, taking his hand and walking back into the council chambers. There was again much noise as the Time Lords and Ladies shifted, speaking softly and staring at them. They were escorted to the circle on the floor and looked up as Romana in her Presidential Robes stood before them on the dais.

“Lord Doctor, Lady Rose, after much debate, the Council and I have reached a decision.” She turned to Lord Polestranamous who strode forward, his green robes swishing against the floor.

“After review of the records of your actions on Earth, Lord Doctor, the Council finds you guilty of disobedience, insubordination and defying of a Council directive.”

“What!” Rose exclaimed, furious at these clueless, imperious Time Lords. The Doctor squeezed her hand and telepathically told her to calm down and wait. Rose took a deep breath and stood stiffly next to him internally seething at what was happening.

Lord Polestranamous continued after staring at Rose with just a hint of fear in his eyes, much to the Doctor’s satisfaction. “Good,” the Doctor thought. “Let them feel a little nervous and think twice before crossing us.”

“Further,” Lord Polestranamous started after clearing his throat. “During the recent unpleasantness on Gallifrey, the Council acknowledges that Lord Doctor and his…consort,” Lord Polestranamous said with hesitation, "did come to the defense of our world and assisted the brave and heroic Time Lords who deposed the Master and his allies.”

Rose again tensed as she listened to these Time Lords who were well on their way to meeting the wrong end of the Master’s laser screwdriver, belittle and dismiss the fact that the Doctor and Rose had saved their collective arses. She glared at them including Romana and her Castellan who stood their with emotionless faces. Emotionless that is, until she caught their eyes and then they flinched ever so slightly. She wanted them to know she would not allow them to hurt her Doctor.

After droning on for several more minutes and feeling the Doctor fidget and snort a few times while Rose tried to repress her inner desire to tell them all what a bunch of ungrateful wankers they were, Lord Polestranamous finished. Just as he was about to pronounce some final punishment, President Romana stepped forward.

“Here it comes,” the Doctor thought to Rose who turned and looked at him.

“According to Gallifreyan law, Article Eight, subsection apple two sub paragraph maron five slash epsilon six point three nine one, a President has the specific power to suggest appropriate measures and sanctions against any Time Lord, House or Chapter involved in questionable behavior that results in some benefit to the people of Gallifrey provided such sanction or measure assures said invidual, House or Chapter bears some form of repercussion for said actions unbecoming a Time Lord, House or Chapter of Gallifrey.”

Several Time Lords stood up grumbling and an excited murmur spread throughout the Council. The Doctor smirked and almost rocked back on his heels in anticipation of what Romana would do next. Apparently, he thought to Rose, she still had some of the rebel in her after all.

The Castellan called for silence and when the Time Lords had hushed, President Romana continued. “It is clear the Doctor knowingly and willfully disregarded a direct order of the Council to return to Gallifrey with the individual known as Rose Tyler. He purposefully absconded with her in an effort to avoid interception by agents of Gallifrey and did willing and most egregiously withhold his location.”

“Yes, Madam President, I am a very naughty Time Lord,” the Doctor announced with a wink to Rose who rolled her eyes and slapped his shoulder.

Romana glared and continued. “In addition, Lord Doctor, you used your status and superior intellect…” The Doctor smirked at this. “…to influence Rose Tyler and corrupt her to your scofflaw and criminal ways.”

The Doctor’s month gaped at that comment. Rose smiled. “Yeah, you are a naughty Time Lord,” she teased. He whipped around and glared at her.

“However,” Romana continued, “despite your obvious disregard for Council directives and blatant violation of the laws of Gallifrey, you did with much vigor and loyalty return to Gallifrey in her hour of need and did defend her people from those who would destroy us. Even when faced with your own prosecution and sanctions, you fulfilled your obligations like a noble Time Lord and without looking for any personal benefit and favor. Such courage and loyalty cannot be overlooked but neither can it overshadow your crimes. Therefore, in consideration of all these facts, it is my recommendation to the most esteemed and honorable Council that you and your consort shall bear an equal punishment according to our laws. You are henceforth banished from Gallifrey until a time when the Council determines you are fit return. Further, you are consecrated back into the service you were original ordered to fulfill. You will bear the responsibility of restoring the humans to their natural course of development and guide them away from any hostilities toward Gallifrey or any advanced species. We will hold you directly responsible for the humans and any transgressions they commit against the universe. As you only served half of your original sentence of three Earth centuries, it is further recommended that this obligation be extended by another Earth century.”

“What!” he shouted, shocked and outraged at being trapped on Earth. “How is that fair? Do you know what it’s like being stuck with those primitives? And how am I supposed to oversee them without my Tardis?” he shouted.

Rose looked up at Romana and saw a glint of amusement and knew it wouldn’t be as bad as he thought.

“Of course, Lord Doctor. We are not without sympathy at the magnitude of the task you are charged. Perhaps it was imprisoning you with the primitives that fomented this irrational behavior. I see no reason you should not be provided with a means to accomplish your task and remind you that you are a Time Lord and obligated to Gallifrey. A Type 40 Tardis is hardly worth a notice these days but I’m sure it’s sufficient for your use,” Romana finished, looking down at a Doctor who was no longer quite as outraged.

“I suppose it is,” he agreed as he fidgeted. He wasn’t happy with having more obligations foisted on him but knew Romana had saved both he and Rose from a much worse fate.

“This is an outrage!” one of the Council called out.

Romana turned to the council member in question. “Is it now Lord Bafronz? As I understand it, the Castellan has uncovered evidence that it was members of your house that provided the Master access to Gallifrey and disabled the transduction barrier. Are you sure you wish to question the punishment of the Time Lord who organized and implemented wresting Gallifrey away from the mad man you let in?”

The grand chamber became silent as the council members realized President Romana had the upper hand for the time being and objecting now would only endanger their positions. Romana turned to Lady Olethianockolian and the Castellan. “You will see to it the Doctor and his Lady are escorted off of Gallifrey effective immediately.”

Both of them inclined their head in acknowledgment and walked the Doctor and Rose out of the council chambers and back to his Tardis. Neither the Doctor nor Rose spoke as they were marched away. At his Tardis, the Doctor nodded his head at both the Castellan and the new head of the CIA.

Lady Olethianockolia stared at him harshly. “Let us hope we do not have the unpleasant duty to meet again, Doctor.”

“Trust me, nothing would make me happier than to never see you again, My Lady.” He turned to Castellan Andred.

“Doctor, do try and stay out of trouble, at least for a while. It would be a pity to make such a fine lady a widow so soon.”

Before the Doctor could respond, Rose grabbed his arm and yanked him into the Tardis. “Don’t worry, I’ll try to keep him from misbehavin’ too much,” Rose promised as she pulled him inside.

“Misbehaving? I don’t misbehave,” he grumbled as the door shut behind him.

Once they were dematerialized into the vortex, the Doctor looked at Rose and she looked at him. “Did she say banished?” Rose asked.

“Yep!” the Doctor replied. “Wouldn’t be the first time and probably not the last.”

Rose broke out into a fit of giggles and laughed so hard tears were falling down her face. The Doctor walked around the console toward her until he was next to her. “And what exactly is funny about that?” he asked, looking confused and a little worried at her reaction.

“Banished,” she finally spit out amidst giggles. “It’s Queen Vickie all over again,” she finished as she gasped for breath and wiped tears from her eyes.

He looked at her and scratched his head while her memories filtered through his mind. A smile eventually broke out on his face. “Yesss, well some parallels are to be expected I suppose.”

Rose calmed and walked up to him, grasping his hand. “Just as long as we don’t repeat the separation part. No more stuck in separate parallel universes, yeah?” she asked, looking into his eyes.

“Never,” he promised, gazing intently at her. “I’d never allow it.”

She inched closer to him “So, guess we better get to Earth and see about gettin’ stuff sorted out?” she murmured as she played with some buttons on his coat.

“I suppose,” he said, looking over at the time rotor. “Then again…time machine and as I recall, I might have promised to show you some of the more interesting rooms on my Tardis,” he said suggestively and then sent her a few visual images.

Rose grinned that special flirtatious grin at him. “Hmmm, guess I don’t need to be worried ‘bout bein’ an old boring married couple with your kinky side. Do I?”

“You and I will never be boring,” he promised her darkly as he lifted her up throwing her over his shoulder and marched down the Tardis corridor to show Rose exactly how not boring he could be.


End file.
